Take a Chance on Me
by debruk34
Summary: Rory and Tristan find what they both were looking for in each other with a little help from Finn. Post Season 7 with changes for Lorelai and Luke. TRORY, Socialite and a lot of fluff! On Hiatus
1. Chapter 1

Title: **Take a Chance on Me**

Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls or any music, movies, places or people mentioned.

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**_Background_**

Everything in Rory's life is the same as in the series. Logan proposed; she turned him down to figure out life on her own and he moved to California. She followed Barack Obama around the campaign trail and wrote for the online magazine until he accepted the Democratic nomination. Rory chose to write under the name R. G. Hayden because she didn't want Mitchum to have any influence in her future. She suspected that her lack of job offers after graduation was because of him. Due to the success of her writing, which of course was informative, witty and full of pop culture references, she was offered a position with the New York Times in both the Arts and Leisure and the Travel departments. The Times was hoping renew their reader base through her writing; so Rory was able to see the world, exploring various cultures and sharing her experiences with a younger generation. After traveling and writing for two years, Rory has become an associate editor and still writes, but not as much.

Finn Westfield is heir to the Westfield Group, the largest retail property group in the world. He travels the world helping to oversee shopping centers and looking for new opportunities. Rory goes with him often so she can get the inside scoop on the exciting parts of many different cities. Finn always knows the best places to be. Finn is dating a beautiful red-head, Caitlin Kelly, who works with Rory.

Tristan went to Duke University in North Carolina after military school. He had a few relationships, nothing that really developed much. Tristan is an architect working for his grandfather Janlen's development company. He moved to New York City to start taking over the business for his grandfather. One of their biggest clients is the Westfield Group. Tristan's father is a lawyer because he had no interest in the family business when he was younger.

Lorelai and Christopher are happily married. They decided that they did want more kids and had identical twin boys, Alexander Richard Hayden (Alex) and Christopher Benjamin Hayden the second (Ben) about a year after they were married.

Luke and Anna Nardini started to date again and got married around the same time Lorelai and Christopher did. There was no custody battle with April.

Luke and Lorelai realized what they had in the past was just that, the past and that they were happy with how life had turned out for them both. They are now friends and Chris and Luke, while not best friends, can at least tolerate each other. Luke moved to Anna's house in Woodbridge but still runs the diner.

Sookie and Jackson's third child was a daughter named Julia Carolyn (after Sookie's inspiration Julia Child).

Since Lorelai and Christopher's marriage, Francine has made amends with Lorelai and Rory and they all now have a good relationship.

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_**Chapter One**_

Rory walked into her apartment and went straight to her kitchen to start a pot of coffee. She noticed the light blinking on her answering machine. Groaning she went to it and pushed play, thinking, 'I hope my day doesn't get any worse.'

"You have two new messages."

"Rory this is your Grandma. Your answering machine message is highly inappropriate. What were you thinking? What if a potential suitor was calling? You know you aren't getting any younger, soon you will be 30 and then you will never find a man. Why you let Logan get away I will never understand. The reason I am calling is to let you know that your Grandfather and I need to go to London this weekend for business and so we will need to reschedule our monthly dinner. I will call you when we return to set another date. Goodbye Rory."

Rolling her eyes, Rory pushed the delete button.

"Hello oldest daughter who never answers her phone. So I woke up this morning and decided I wanted to wear my favorite, super adorable, black and white heels to work. When I got to work Michel was acting weirder than normal and didn't want to play. Then as I was looking out the front window it started to rain, but the sun was out, you know like in that song by John Fogerty? Well Cletus must have thought it was weird too so he decided to walk into the lobby again. Michel refused to take him back to the stables even though I told him my cute shoes would get all muddy if I did it. So I went to the closet to put on my yellow fisherman boots. When I came back in I took off my boots and found Paw-Paw with my heels, as if they were Jimmy 'Chew toys'. The Chow ate my Choo's! I went home at lunch to find my second favorite black stilettos and didn't see them even though Paul Anka had all my shoes lined up by color. So, did you take them? Please call Mommy back!"

Rory cringed as she started to dig through her purse for her cell. Just as she found it, it started to sing, "I come from a land down under where beer does flow and men chunder." Smiling at her friend's theme song she answered.

"Finn, you had better be calling me with some good news because I have had a horrible morning already. I got dressed up in my favorite flippy black skirt, the shirt that matches my eyes and the stilettos that I stole from mom all because I wanted to look good for the departmental board meeting. Plus I only got one cup of coffee before I had to leave. After stopping at the Starbuck's across the street from work I took a step into the road and out of nowhere a bike messenger cuts me off. By the way who still uses bike messengers in the day and age of instant communication? I jumped out of his way and my heel got stuck in a manhole cover just like Jennifer Lopez in the Wedding Planner and my beloved coffee spilled all over my shirt. Unlike J-Lo I was able to get my heel out of the manhole cover but it was broken.

I got into my office only 3 minutes before the meeting was supposed to start. I slipped on my spare black ballet flats and turned to the closet to get my extra work shirt that I keep for emergencies thinking fate was finally on my side; but no, fate had a little help from my mother today. I found that my work appropriate shirt has been replaced by my mother's shirt with the rhinestone penis on it. I put the shirt on because I had no other option and then rushed to the board meeting. The ten 40-60 something year old board members gawked at me when I entered causing me to look down at my shirt and say, 'Well, based on your reactions I would say that while the younger generation is beginning to change what is appropriate to wear to work, the corporate world is not quite ready for phallic symbols, no matter how sparkly!

Sorry to test this idea today but I thought it might make a good story.' They seemed to accept that as a good enough reason to wear the shirt. After the meeting I decided to call it a day only to arrive home to a message from my Grandmother reminding yet again that I am single and that 25 is knocking on the door to 30 and why did I let Logan get away. So please Finn, tell me my day is going to get better."

Finn laughed and then said, "Well hello to you too love. I am calling to make your day better. Pack your bags, grab your passport and meet Caitlin at the Starbuck's downstairs in 45 minutes and Joe will be there to pick you both up in an hour to take you to the air strip. I have your next story and vacation all ready for you."

Rory sighed and said, "Finn, I need more information than 'pack your bags,' if you expect me to be ready in 45 minutes. Where are we going and for how long? Also, am I on speaker phone, I hear a lot of background noise?"

Finn set two glasses on the bar in the limo and answered, "I am looking into some development opportunities in Mexico and I want you and Caitlin to come too for the next week. And since I am in Mexico I thought I would start enjoying the drink of the culture before you got here, so I am making margaritas in the limo, thus the speakerphone."

"You're the best Finn! I will see you later tonight, but now I must pack! Bye!" Rory smiled as she ended the call. She grabbed a cup of coffee and went to start packing. She quickly changed into a strapless blue sundress that appeared to have been made just for her, both in color and fit. After staring into her closet for a couple of minutes trying to decide what to pack, she sighed and said, "In Omnia Paratus," and quickly picked out clothes for all occasions.

Finn hung up the phone and looked at the shocked face of one of his closest friends and now business associate, Tristan DuGrey.

Laughing, Finn handed him a drink and said, "And that was the lovely R.G. Hayden. I am looking forward to you two meeting. I know you are her type with that blond hair of yours and I know she definitely is your type. She is gorgeous, has long brown hair, incredible blue eyes and while she can talk your ear off and get you so confused you don't know which way is up, she is bloody brilliant."

Tristan smiled and thought to himself, 'I wonder how this one will compare to the only girl in my life that has ever been worth it. Based on that phone call she is one step closer than any other girl has ever been to my Mary. They at least ramble the same way.'

Throwing her sunglasses into her purse, a sweater over her shoulders and heeled sandals on her feet, Rory turned off her coffee pot and locked her apartment door. As she got into the elevator to head to the Starbuck's conveniently located in her building she called Lorelai.

"You have reached the Hayden residence. We are unable to answer the phone right now, but if you leave your name, number and a brief message we will return your call."

"I will assume that Grandma attacked your answering machine message too, because unless dad moved you to Stepford without telling me, that is the only excuse for something that boring to be your greeting. I am calling for two reasons. First, yes I did take your stilettos, and I would love to return them. However, as of this morning the score stands at manhole cover: 1, pretty black stilettos: 0. I would feel bad, but after spilling my precious coffee all over my work shirt in that great war I went to change before my important departmental board meeting only to find that you decided to replace my spare shirt with one with a penis on it. So I think we are going to call this even. The second reason I am calling is to let you know that I am meeting Caitlin as we speak to get on Finn's plane to meet him in Mexico for the next week. I will call you when I get home. Love to all of my favorite Haydens!"

Rory walked into Starbuck's dragging her luggage behind her and immediately saw the stunning redhead in an emerald green sundress waiting on the couch by the front window.

"Caitlin!" she squealed quickly dropping her bags and hugging her friend.

Caitlin Kelly smiled and said, "I am so glad you are coming. Finn called and told me that he is looking at some properties with his good friend whose family owns JD Corporation, the development company that designs and builds the Westfield Group's properties. I love Finn, but I am not sure I can handle him and his friend alone."

Rory nodded in understanding. Just then Joe arrived and took their luggage to the limo while both girls got some coffee for the ride to the air strip.

Rory and Caitlin didn't stop talking until they were in the air and both decided to take naps to prepare for what they were sure would be a fun night with Finn and his friend.

As she drifted off to sleep Rory thought back to her grandmother's message and wondered if there was someone out there for her.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls or any music, movies, places or people mentioned.

A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, especially to jmoran319 for my first review ever. I got so excited to read each review and I hope that this chapter doesn't disappoint anyone. Because I loved the attention my story is getting so far I am updating today. I definitely can't promise that updates will come every day, but I will do my best to not make you wait too long.

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_**Chapter Two**_

Rory woke from her nap about 20 minutes before landing. She looked over at Caitlin who was watching the sun set over Pacific Ocean through the airplane window. Rory pulled her cosmetic bag out of her purse, brushed her hair, applied some lip-gloss and then joined Caitlin looking out the windows as they landed in Puerto Vallarta.

After going through customs, Rory and Caitlin were escorted to a waiting limo and driven to the Four Seasons in Punta Mita about half an hour north of the airport. The limo driver dropped them off at the main building where a concierge directed them to the lounge overlooking the ocean.

Rory and Caitlin saw Finn talking to a blond haired man who had his back to them. Before they entered the lounge, the concierge turned to Rory and said, "Miss Hayden, there is a message for you at the front desk."

Rory sighed and turned to Caitlin, "I'm guessing Finn called work to tell them where we were going. You go to Finn and I will be there in a few minutes." She turned around and walked to the front desk.

"Hello, I'm Rory Hayden, I was told you have a message for me," Rory said to the man at the front desk.

"Yes Miss Hayden. I got the pleasure of taking a message for you," he said with a grimace. "The woman on the phone told me that Mr. Westfield emailed her your contact information for the week in case of an emergency and that she believed this was an emergency. I was told I needed to record the message and make sure it was played on a speakerphone. Are you ready to hear it?"

Rory was worried that something had happened and said, "Yes, please play the message."

Lorelai's voice came through the speaker loudly, "I can't believe you stole my shoes, what will you steal next? My precious Rico? Because I won't let you have him, he gives me the pick-me-up that is necessary to get to Luke's so that he can fulfill my needs in ways that only he can. Hahahaha, I am so glad that I thought to replace your spare work shirt last week when you left me alone in your office; I wish I would have been in that board meeting. Gigi, Alex, Ben and your dad asked that you bring them souvenirs and if you bring me something special for Rico I might let you use him too. Enjoy your trip and always wear sunscreen."

Relieved it wasn't really an emergency, Rory laughed at her mother's message and the look of unease on the man behind the desk's face. Knowing which part of the message caused that look she said, "Rico is what she named her coffeemaker, and Luke's is the diner where she gets more coffee each morning."

Understanding now showed on his face and he told her to ask the concierge during her stay where to find the best coffee to take back to her mother. Thanking him, Rory walked back to the lounge.

As Rory was getting her message, Caitlin entered the lounge. Finn saw her as she walked over to their table. His whole face lit up as she smiled at him and kissed him hello. "Hello my love. I'm so glad you are here, where is—"

"She had to get a message from the front desk and will be right here," Caitlin interrupted him.

"Caitlin, I want to you meet my good friend Tristan DuGrey; Tristan this is the love of my life Caitlin Kelly." Caitlin and Tristan smiled and greeted each other. The three sat for a few minutes and talked about their trips. As they were talking, Rory approached the group. Finn stood up and began to introduce the Rory and Tristan.

"Ah, here the lovely Miss Hayden is. Love, I want you to meet Tristan DuGrey; Tristan this is -." Upon hearing his name Tristan stood up and turned toward Rory and his eyes grew wide and his jaw dropped. "Rory Gilmore," Tristan said at the same time Finn said, "Rory Hayden." Rory's face mirrored Tristan's before both broke into huge smiles and they embraced each other.

Rory pushed him away and said, "Where have you been, how you have been, the last thing you told me was that you wanted to kiss me goodbye and then you don't even write? I never thought I would see you again. I missed you Tristan," she finished softly.

Tristan couldn't believe his luck. He pinched himself discretely; if this was another dream he was going to be so mad. But it couldn't be a dream; Rory never looked this good in his dreams. "Wow Rory, you look incredible. I was in North Carolina until I graduated from Duke University. I recently moved back to New York to work for my grandfather. Sorry I didn't write, I didn't think you would want me to. I thought you hated me. Wait, Hayden? That wasn't stock boy's last name was it? Please tell me you didn't marry him."

Finn and Caitlin watched the exchange with confusion. Finn broke out of his trance and said, "You two know each other?"

"Yeah, we went to Chilton Preparatory together until Tristan got himself shipped off to military school right before he was supposed to play Romeo causing me to have to kiss Paris. And Tristan, Hayden has always been my last name, only I never used it until my parents finally got married almost 4 years ago. I decided to officially start using it after a bad breakup interfered with my professional life. I was able to get a great job once Gilmore was no longer the name on my resume. Also, I never hated you; I was just confused because I thought I was supposed to only love Dean."

"I missed you too, Mary" Tristan said with a smirk. Rory smiled in return.

"Mary? Rory is your Mary?" Finn asked astounded. Tristan just nodded without turning his eyes away Rory's.

"Hey Finn, can I talk to you out on the balcony?" Caitlin asked.

"But this is just getting good. I can't believe Rory is Tristan's Mary," Finn whined.

"Finn, now," Caitlin said sternly. Finn pouted but followed her anyway.

Rory looked at Tristan curiously. "What did Finn mean that he can't believe I'm your Mary? How does he know about that?" she asked.

Tristan blushed a little, rubbed the back of his neck and said, "I may have told him about you a few times, and how I wished I could date you, but never mentioned your real name."

"You mean you told him in high school how you wanted to date me? I never thought you were serious until the night you left school. It was like I could see your true feelings that night, you seemed so vulnerable."

"Um, high school, yeah that's when I talked about you," he said uneasily.

"Tristan. When did you tell Finn about me?"

"Fine, I may have mentioned you a few times during high school and college and a couple of times since then," he admitted.

Rory looked deep into his eyes with her piercing blue ones as she asked quietly, "Why would you think of me, let alone mention me, so often?"

Tristan thought to himself, 'I need to just take a chance and tell her everything.' He took a deep breath and said, "After I left you standing in that hallway, I figured that I would never get another chance with you, but I wanted to become the kind of man that you deserved. If I couldn't have you, hopefully I would be able to find someone like you; and if they were in fact like you, I needed to be a better man. I changed because of you.

I realized that I was only attracted to girls with brown hair and blue eyes, but I could never find the right one. Every time I broke up with a girl, I would call Finn. He would ask me what had been wrong with her and each time I would tell him how she was different than Mary. You were always the girl I measured the others against."

"Why?" she whispered so softly she wasn't sure she even spoke. Whether or not Tristan heard her, he saw the question in her eyes.

"I'm not sure why. Maybe it was because I never got to date you so I saw you as the ideal girl. But I think it was simply that they weren't you." He looked into her tear-filled eyes and though he wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer, he asked anyway. "Did you ever think of me?"

Rory bit her lip and furrowed her brow. She thought back over the last seven years and to the feelings she never admitted out loud. Slowly her contemplative look was replaced by a brilliant smile as she nodded her head.

"Though I never talked to anyone about you, I think that every guy I dated was somehow chosen because of you. I think the second time I dated Dean it was partly to run away from any feelings I had for you. Then I dated Jess. He was my 'bad boy' and he reminded me of you. He is smart like you are and he had the same rebellious streak you had. Then there was Dean again. Dating him a third time was one of the biggest mistakes of my life. After the first time we, well you know, I thought about you and how I completely didn't deserve the name Mary anymore.

The last serious relationship I had was Logan. The cute, blond, rich playboy who was able to debate with me about everything, and who irritated me to no end; he was you in so many ways. Maybe that's why I let him have so many chances. I just wasn't able to give him the biggest chance, the one that kept him around forever. He proposed and I just couldn't bring myself to accept him. Deep down I knew that no matter how alike you seemed, you weren't the same. Plus, his eyes were brown and I would much rather get lost in your blue eyes," Rory blushed as she admitted her feelings.

Finn and Caitlin weren't able to hear Rory and Tristan's conversation, but not for lack of trying on Finn's part. Caitlin was doing her best to keep him outside and quiet but it was getting increasingly more difficult with each passing second. Finn, being Finn, decided to try to help them realize their feelings because he thought it was taking them too long.

Tristan took Rory's hand in his and said, "So Mary, I know this may seem fast, but I think we should see where this could go. We owe it to ourselves, and probably our ex's, to see if it was all worth it. Will you –"

Tristan was interrupted by Finn jumping on the back of couch and breaking out in song.

"Take a chance on me  
Gonna do my very best and it ain't no lie  
If you put me to the test, if you let me try

Take a chance on me  
(That's all I ask of you honey)  
Take a chance on me

We can go dancing, we can go walking, as long as we're together  
Listen to some music, maybe just talking, get to know you better  
'Cos you know I've got  
So much that I wanna do, when I dream I'm alone with you  
It's magic"

As he sang, Finn walked across tables, chairs and even the bar. Caitlin stood in the doorway and watched her boyfriend perform. She didn't even try to drag him back outside. She knew once he got started there was no stopping him; besides, scenes from _Mamma Mia_ had replaced his _Passion of the Christ_ act lately and he had yet to perform this song. Caitlin was interested in how he would do with it.

Abruptly, Finn stopped singing, jumped off the bar, took a bow, grabbed Caitlin's hand and led her back out to the balcony.

Tristan and Rory shook their heads and laughed at Finn's performance. They turned toward each other again and looked into each other's blue eyes and Tristan said, "Well, Finn kind of stole my thunder. I was going to ask if you will you take a chance on me?"

Smiling, Rory leaned forward, whispered yes and kissed him.

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A/N: I know I didn't drag out them getting together, but I have an idea of where I want the story to go and getting them together quickly is necessary for the story. The next chapter will be Tristan and Rory getting to know each other better and you will find out why Finn is still in Rory's life. Please let me know what you liked or didn't like. Sorry if anyone is too OOC. Please review and make my day!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls or any music, movies, places or people mentioned or quoted.

A/N: I was a little sad to see that the last chapter didn't get many reviews; though I do want to thank those of you who did take the time review. It made me feel great! It takes me hours to write each chapter, minutes for you to read them and only a few seconds to click that button and review. Please let me know if this story is worth reading. Thank you! Enjoy the chapter!

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_**Chapter Three**_

"All right kids, break it up. R. G. you are like my little sister and I do not need to see my little sister getting all hot and heavy with her boyfriend, at least not without a few more drinks in me. What do you say we go back to our private villa, have something to eat and celebrate?" Finn didn't wait for a response from Rory and Tristan before leading Caitlin out of the lounge and toward the villa.

Tristan and Rory rested their foreheads against one another while they tried to catch their breath. "I guess we should follow them. You know if we don't follow, Finn will just be back here and there is always a chance he will be naked," Rory said.

"Yeah you're right; besides, we can get a bit more comfortable there," Tristan said. He smirked when Rory started to blush. "Still a Mary I see."

"Well, not really, but when I am around you, somehow I revert back to my sixteen year old self. Maybe if you're lucky you will get to see how much of a Mary I'm not sometime," she said with a wink. "But first, I really need some coffee and some food, preferably in that order."

"Well, we have a private chef for the week and I am sure Finn will have him make us all something. And I know for a fact that there is coffee in the villa because I made two pots for myself today," Tristan stated.

"You're a coffee addict? Well now you are definitely the perfect man. If I hadn't been sure before, that just earned you like 10 pros on the pro/con list. Unless you don't share coffee, because that would definitely be a con, possibly even a deal breaker. But of course you share coffee, or you wouldn't have just told me that there was coffee in the villa. Maybe you said it to lure me there under false pretenses. Tristan, tell me now, are you a coffee tease? Be honest."

"Breathe Rory. I promise there is coffee in the villa, coffee that I will share with you. I will always share coffee with you."

Rory stood up, pulling Tristan with her. "What are you waiting for then, let's go get coffee."

Not letting go of the hand she had grabbed to pull him from the couch, Tristan led Rory out of the lounge. They walked outside and down the beach toward the villa. They paused to take off their shoes and Rory pulled them toward the ocean so they could walk in the calm waves. They both had questions for the other and decided to get them out of the way so they could start a relationship on a clean slate.

Rory started, "So, other than dating blue-eyed brunettes, are there any stories to tell regarding your past relationships?"

Tristan shrugged and said, "There isn't really that much to tell. During the year and half that I was in the _all-male_ military school, I was only able to meet a few girls through some social activities the school held. I had a couple of short relationships, but they were the same type of girls that I had been seeing at Chilton and I found I just wasn't interested in that type anymore. We would go out on a couple of dates and then I would get bored.

I had two longer relationships at Duke, Laura and Becca. Laura was smart and sweet but after about 8 months we both started drifting apart. We realized there just wasn't that spark and that there was no future for us. Becca was a bit different. She was the one that reminded me the most of you. She was funny, interesting and innocent looking. We had a lot of fun together for about a year. We had even moved in together. Shortly after that is when I discovered that she was absolutely nothing like you, the innocent thing was just an act.

It seemed like Becca had started to act differently and I didn't feel comfortable around her all the time anymore. I thought that maybe I was just scared of committing to her; but I couldn't shake the feeling that something was really wrong. I felt bad about breaking up with her without a reason, so I started looking for one. When Becca was at class one day I saw her diary on her desk. Of course I had to read it; it was as if it was calling to me. I am so glad I did. I discovered that she had lied to me about almost everything, including her background and her family. She was a gold-digger who had already been married twice before; in fact she was still married when met she me. Once she learned my name and we started dating, she got divorced and began trying to trap me into a marriage. Thankfully she hadn't gotten pregnant yet since that was the newest step in her plan. She had been dropping marriage hints and I wasn't ready yet so she thought she would force me into that option.

I've only seen a couple of women since I threw Becca out of the apartment and neither of them was worth pursuing long-term. So that brings me to today where I am walking on the beach with an absolutely beautiful woman." As Tristan finished his story, Rory stopped walking and kissed him.

"So, what do you want to know about me?" she asked as they slowly continued to walk down the beach.

"Before, you said that the third time with stock boy was one of the biggest mistakes of your life. Why was it such a big mistake? Also, what are your other big mistakes?"

Rory had known that was the question he would ask. She took a deep breath and started, "As you probably understood from before, I lost my virginity to Dean. It was right after my freshman year at Yale. My mom was in the process of remodeling and opening the Dragonfly Inn and Dean and I had crossed paths a few times because he was working for the inn's contractor. During the test-run we ended up alone at my mom's house where one thing led to another and we had sex. My mom caught us right after and I spent the summer in Europe with my Grandmother, while Dean spent it with his_ wife_, Lindsay. Before we slept together he had told me their marriage was over and I believed him. I sent him a letter hoping he would forget about me and make things work with her. Lindsay found it and they got divorced. We tried to date for a few months, I felt I owed it to him, but our lives were just too different.

My biggest mistake had to do with Logan. His father, Mitchum Huntzberger, gave me an internship at one of his newspapers to make up for the way his family treated me one night. At the end of the internship Mitchum gave me a poor performance review and I took it very badly. I convinced Logan to help me steal a yacht. We were arrested and I received 300 hours of community service that I had 6 months to complete, along with probation for a year. Just last month it was finally expunged from my record. If that wasn't enough, I dropped out of Yale for a semester, moved into my grandparent's pool house, joined the DAR and didn't talk to my mom for about six months.

Mitchum is the reason I don't go by Rory Gilmore anymore. He owns so many newspapers and has such an influence that even though I graduated with honors, I only had one job offer. It was a small paper and I didn't want to work for them. I lucked out with a contact I had made for an on-line magazine and I decided that if I ever wanted a chance at a good job in the future, I needed to distance myself from Mitchum. I immediately started writing under the name R. G. Hayden. And it only took me about 3 months to get Finn to stop calling me Rory Gilmore."

"Yeah, that sounds like Finn. I never thought that a history of theft and adultery would be something we had in common." They had arrived outside the villa as they finished their conversation.

"I'm glad we got that conversation out of the way so quickly. Now we can start over and move forward together." She lowered her voice and said a seductive voice, "I propose we start this relationship off the right way and get down to the really important stuff," she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively as she leaned closer to Tristan.

"The really important stuff, huh? Why Mary, whatever do you mean?" Tristan asked, his eyes darkening slightly.

"I think you know what I mean. Let's continue this inside, away from prying eyes. It's time to find out how hot, how steamy, and how bold you like," she paused and whispered, "your coffee." She winked at him and skipped inside toward the kitchen.

Groaning, Tristan shook his head and followed Rory. Fortunately the chef had made a new pot right before they arrived, so Tristan filled a cup for each of them and brought the carafe to the kitchen table where Rory was waiting.

She took her cup, breathed in the wonderful scent and then drank the whole cup. "I take it you don't want any cream or sugar?" Tristan asked.

"What, and defile it? Why would I do that? Do you taint your coffee with additives?" Rory asked appalled as she poured another cup.

"Uh, no, not at all. In military school they only had that horrible powdered creamer, so I started drinking it black rather than torture myself, and I haven't been able to drink it any other way since." Rory relaxed and finished her second cup. The two sat at the table talking and drinking their coffee while waiting for their late dinner to be finished.

Meanwhile, in one of the master bedrooms, Finn helped Caitlin get settled for the week. She turned to him and said, "I'm glad Rory found Tristan again, and I know he is your friend and all, but I feel like I need to talk to him and make sure his intentions are honorable. Would you mind if I talked to him alone later? Maybe you can have the same kind of talk with Rory, you know, make sure she has Tristan's best interest at heart?"

"Fine, but after that it is going to be just you, me and that skimpy black bikini you brought, enjoying the moonlight in the hot tub. Now, are you done unpacking because I am in dire need of a drink and maybe some food?" Caitlin nodded and they went to join Rory and Tristan in the kitchen.

After they all ate, Caitlin and Tristan went outside to talk and Finn and Rory sat on the living room couch.

"Now Rory, what are your intentions with Tristan?" he asked.

"Fiiiiiiiiiinn," Rory whined.

"All right. Now look, Focker, I'm a patient man. That's what 13 months in a Vietnamese prison camp will do to you. But I will be watching you, studying your every move. And if I find that you are trying to corrupt my firstborn child, I will bring you down, baby. I will bring you down to Chinatown." Finn said in a horrible New York accent trying to imitate Robert De Niro making Rory laugh.

"All kidding aside love, Tristan has been telling me about his Mary since he met you at Chilton and he may not admit it yet, but I know he is in love you. Be careful with him; be careful with yourself."

"Finn, I'm not going to hurt him. He's who I have been wanting since high school. I'm in love with him too," Rory admitted.

Outside Caitlin sat on a lounge chair and turned toward Tristan who was sat on a chair opposite her. "I don't really know you Tristan. Finn has only told me a little about you. Things like you have been good friends since you were kids and that you have kept in contact even if you didn't see each other that often. He trusts you with his life; and that says enough to me because I trust Finn with mine. I don't need to know much more from you tonight except one thing. The past couple of years Rory has become my best friend and I want what is best for her. You aren't going to hurt her are you?"

Tristan looked at Caitlin with a completely straight face and said, "I don't ever want to hurt her and I will do everything that I can to make sure that I don't. I'm in love with her; I always have been."

Caitlin smiled and nodded her approval. "Good. Now tell me something I can use against Finn if I ever need it."

Back inside, Rory asked Finn a question that she had been curious about for a while.

"Finn, not that I am complaining at all, but I was wondering why we're still friends after Logan and I broke up. I thought for sure you would leave me too."

"I told Colin that this custody agreement shouldn't be kept a secret," Finn shook his head and sighed. He continued, "I suggested taking you for the work week and every other weekend, but he insisted that since there were two of you and two of us we would each just take one of you full time. We both wanted you, but I won the coin toss. Colin told me to tell you if you ever asked about him that just because he has to be there for Logan doesn't mean that he loves you any less."

"Custody agreement? You aren't serious; are you Finn?" Rory asked.

"As a heart attack. Colin drew up the custody papers when he was in law school. We had such a hard time choosing who to spend time with when you and Logan broke up the first time that we wanted to be covered in case the same thing happened again. We even put in a coffee-support clause where he has to send 2 pounds of coffee beans to my apartment a month to help cover your addiction. Though he did try to skip a delivery recently, I think he was hoping I wouldn't notice," Finn said.

Rory laughed and said, "That finally explains the note I found a few months ago that said 'Quit hounding me because I was five days late. I had to sneak out this morning to come over here you because he knows something is going on between us. He could smell it on my clothes when he was in town on business and couldn't believe I would betray him like that.' I've been trying to figure that note out ever since. I even went in your closet that day to see if any of your clothes smelled in order to get a clue. I knew that was a long shot since you didn't write the note and you probably didn't have any funny smelling clothes."

Finn shook his head and scolded himself, "Bloody Colin and his notes. Always remember to destroy the evidence, Finn."

He looked at Rory and said, "Let's go find our other halves and call it a night, shall we?"

Rory gave Finn and hug and said, "Thanks for being there for me Finn. Let's go." Together they walked outside to find Tristan and Caitlin and end the eventful night.

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A/N: Next chapter (unless people don't want me to continue the story) will be the last in Mexico and Tristan's introduction to Rory's family and friends.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls or any music, movies, places or people mentioned or quoted.

A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. Here is the next chapter that I promised to a few of you. I'm not exactly sure I love all of it, but I am happy enough to post!

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_**Chapter Four**_

Early the next afternoon, Rory woke up to find a note on the pillow next to her. As she sat up to read it, memories of last night made her smile. She and Tristan had spent most of the night talking and learning more about each other. During their conversations, they both shyly admitted that they were already in love. Eventually talking led to kissing, and Rory and Tristan moved to the room Tristan had claimed. Neither of them had ever felt such a connection to anyone else and it didn't feel at all rushed as they lost themselves in each other. As the sky began to lighten, Rory and Tristan fell asleep in the other's arms.

Focusing on the note in her hand, Rory began to read: 'My beautiful Rory, I hope you slept well; I know that I did. Well, I did until Finn came to get me up for our meeting this afternoon. I nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw him standing over me with a huge smile on his face. We should be back around 9 tonight after a business dinner, and then Finn wants to start showing you some of the local nightlife for your articles. There is fresh coffee for you in the kitchen. Love, Tristan'

Rory happily wandered into the kitchen to get coffee and encountered an extremely excited and bouncy Caitlin.

"Good, you're finally awake. The guys left almost an hour ago. Finn told me which bedroom you ended up in this morning and I have been waiting impatiently for you to get out here to tell me everything."

Rory drank her first cup of coffee and poured a second cup before turning to Caitlin with a huge grin on her face.

"I'm not going to tell you _everything_, but what I will tell you is that he told me he loves me. I have never felt this good about a relationship in my life. This morning, after we finished talking, well, let's just say we found another way to get to know each other better. And wow, if that is what every time with Tristan is like, I want to repeat it every single day until I die a very happy and satisfied woman."

The two women spent the rest of the afternoon by the pool mostly discussing Rory and Tristan and their plans for the rest of their trip. Eventually they started to get ready for their night out at the club. Rory got ready in her room so that Tristan wouldn't see her until they were ready to leave. Looking at the clothes she packed, Rory knew immediately what to wear. Usually she needed to consult Lorelai to figure out the perfect outfit, but looking at the dress she knew it would be perfect for tonight. Upon seeing the dress, Caitlin had agreed that it would be perfect for the club. 'I can't wait to see how the guys react to seeing Rory in that dress,' the redhead thought as she went to her room to get ready.

Finn and Tristan got back a little before 9 and went to their rooms to get changed. Caitlin had finished getting ready first and was waiting in the living room for everyone else. She was soon joined by Finn and Tristan.

"Ro-ry, hurry up love, I don't want to wait any longer," Finn whined loudly.

"Finn just have a drink while you wait; I know for a fact that the bar out there is fully stocked. Rule number 5, 'Never rush a Gilmore Girl.' Just because I don't go by Gilmore anymore doesn't mean that the Gilmore Girls' rules don't apply," Rory yelled from behind the closed bedroom door.

"You're an enabler," he yelled back. "She does have a point though, the bar is fully stocked and we shouldn't let it stay that way. I could never live with myself if I didn't at least attempt to rectify that situation," Finn said to Tristan and Caitlin.

Finn made drinks for them while they waited for Rory to appear.

Ten minutes later, when Finn had gone into the kitchen to get some more ice, her bedroom door opened and Tristan's jaw dropped.

Rory walked out wearing a strapless, skin-tight red dress that ended above mid-thigh and silver heeled sandals. Her hair was curled and pulled into a sophisticated ponytail. Her makeup was done to accentuate her eyes and she wore no jewelry to distract from her dress.

Tristan stared at her and didn't say anything as she stood just outside her bedroom door. She bit her lip and asked uncertainly, "What? Is there something wrong?" She turned in a circle showing off the back of the dress, or what little there was of it, as she tried to look herself over to figure out what might be wrong. Caitlin was watching the whole scene with a small smile. She heard Tristan whimper as he saw the back of the dress.

Tristan took a couple of shallow breaths. "Uh, um," Tristan stammered. He swallowed and tried again to talk. "Sorry, what did you say?"

"Is there something wrong with my dress?" Rory asked innocently.

Tristan's eyes traveled up and down her body as his eyes darkened with lust. "Absolutely not. You look unbelievable."

She looked relieved and walked over to him to give him a kiss.

Just then Finn walked into the room, saw Rory and dropped the bowl of ice he was carrying. "Excellent dress Hayden, really excellent dress. Caitlin love, you must borrow that dress sometime. Tristan you better not let her out of your sight all night."

"I won't take my eyes off of her for a second," Tristan said with double meaning while smiling at Rory.

"Since this ice is useless now, we must leave. To the club!" Finn led the way to the waiting limo.

Later that night, Tristan wasn't the only one who needed to keep an eye on his girlfriend. Finn and Tristan were constantly trying to deter guys who kept approaching Caitlin and Rory. Some of the men were just not getting the hint that these two ladies were not available. After explaining to the same persistent man 3 different times that he needed to leave, Finn decided to try again with a little help from Monty Python this time.

"I don't want to talk to you no more, you empty-headed animal food trough wiper! I fart in your general direction! Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries! Now leave before I am forced to taunt you a second time!"

Finn's tactic must have worked because word spread throughout the club that the two hot women were with some crazy guy and it would be best to leave them alone. The four were finally able to enjoy their night.

The rest of the week seemed to pass quickly. Finn and Tristan had more meetings and found some promising locations for the Westfield Group. Caitlin and Rory discovered the local art and shopping districts and spent hours learning about the culture and finding great presents for their family and friends. One of the mornings Caitlin and Rory went to a spa for pampering while Finn and Tristan went golfing. One day the group went on a canopy tour that also included a mule ride and a tequila distillery tour and tasting. A lot of time was also spent relaxing on the beach or by their private pool. Their evenings were spent discovering unique local cuisine and enjoying the spirited nightlife, while their late nights and early mornings were spent inside the villa a bit more intimately.

As the week came to an end, the foursome flew back to New York together.

Rory was anxious to introduce Tristan to her family. Even though he had been acquainted with Richard and Emily in the past, Rory needed to introduce him now as her boyfriend. Thankfully she got the opportunity almost as soon as she came home. Christopher and Lorelai were throwing a party for Alex and Ben who were turning three that weekend and Rory decided that would be the perfect time to bring Tristan home with her.

"Hey Lore, did Rory say that she was bringing a guy with her?" Christopher yelled from the living room window as he saw Rory's car pull up in front of the house and she and Tristan got out of it.

"Well I told her she should bring Finn; you remember Finn, tall, brown hair, green eyes, and sounds like Crocodile Dundee or the Crocodile Hunter. Why are the only Australians I can think of right now associated with crocodiles? Why, did she bring someone else? Maybe Finn couldn't come. Did she bring Caitlin? Did she come alone? Tell me Chris, I need to know," Lorelai said eagerly as she came down from their bedroom.

"Rory and a guy, not Finn, just went into the backyard where everyone else is. Why don't we go join them and find out the answers to your questions," Christopher said as he followed Lorelai who had already left the living room to go to the backyard.

As Rory and Tristan walked around to the back of the house she turned to him and asked, "Are you ready? Of course you aren't ready. I knew I should have introduced you to my family and hometown in small doses. That way they couldn't all gang up on you. But maybe this way is better; you will only have to answer the 'what are your intentions with my daughter, granddaughter, sister, best friend, daughter of my best friend, neighbor' questions once. I don't think they have seen you yet; you can still go hide in the car if you want to rethink this."

He put his arm around her as they walked and pulled her close to him. "Rory, I want to do this. I want to get to know everyone that is important in your life, because I want to be in your life. I know you're nervous, so am I. But I need to do this and since we can see them now, I am assuming they can see us," Tristan said as they approached the party. When they stopped walking everyone formed a circle around them, all interested in finding out whom Rory had brought home.

Lorelai pushed through the circle to the newly arrived couple pulling Christopher behind her. "Well, well, well. What do we have here? The last time I talked to you, you mentioned nothing about acquiring blond arm candy. Who is this? Why does he look familiar? Why does he have his arm around you? He must be brave to be standing in the middle of this circle." Lorelai was bouncing with anticipation.

"Mom, Dad, everyone, this is Tristan DuGrey, my boyfriend. We attended Chilton together during sophomore and junior years and we met again through Finn last week. I wanted _all_ of you to meet him and get to know him; and what better way to accomplish that than through a mass interrogation?" she said with a sheepish smile.

"I see that look in your eye mister, how long have you been in love with my daughter? You only just met her again, you can't possibly think you are in love already," Lorelai said skeptically.

"I have loved her since I was 16 years old. You, Mr. Hayden, Rory and I have something in common. We met the love of our lives when we were in high school. It just took us all some time to get our acts together to find our way to each other again. We all said the wrong things and dated the wrong people at some point, but that led us to reuniting with the one person who makes us feel complete," Tristan honestly replied.

Chris steps forward and shakes Tristan's hand saying, "I'm Christopher Hayden, Rory's dad. I'm just going to get to the point. What are your intentions with my oldest daughter?"

Tristan looked him right in the eye as he replied, "I intend to do whatever Rory wants. I intend to be with her forever if she will let me."

Richard nodded his head as he listened to Tristan's answers. The question he felt needed to be asked was not to Tristan, so he took his turn. "Rory, what do you want?"

"I want to let him be with me forever. I love him too. I realized last week that I have been in love with him since high school. He is everything I have ever wanted," she said honestly.

Lorelai could tell that Rory was really in love and since she had gotten the answers she wanted she said, "Okay, enough love interrogation for now. You pass phase one, but if I ever find out that anything you just said wasn't completely true there will be hell to pay. Now on to phase two. This phase might be even more important than the first."

Rory smiled at the worried look on Tristan's face; she knew what her mom was going to say next. Lorelai continued, "What are your feelings toward coffee?" Tristan visibly relaxed and picked up a bag he had brought from the car and handed it to Lorelai while saying, "If there is one thing I know, it is to always bring coffee to women named Lorelai. This is the best coffee that Mexico had to offer. I drank almost as much as Rory did while we were away."

Lorelai opened the bag and pulled out ten pounds of coffee beans. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. Slowly opening her eyes she said, "Phase two passed."

Throughout the party Tristan met everyone that was important to Rory and answered more questions, but none as intense as her family's had been. By the end of the night Tristan had been accepted by everyone and he couldn't believe how lucky he was to have Rory in his life again.

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A/N: So I am going to try a new tactic for reviews to make it easier and hopefully get a better response. I am going to list some options and all you have to do is click the little button and then post the letter of the choice that applies to you most. Of course you can always add comments and I would love you even more! Thank you!

A) I loved this chapter and am looking forward to reading the next one

B) The chapter was fine, I may or may not read the next one

C) Thanks for trying but I am moving onto bigger and better stories

D) (Insert your own comment here)


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls or any music, movies, places or people mentioned or quoted.

A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter. I am so glad to see that people are enjoying the story. To answer some questions, yes Logan and Dean will make an appearance in future chapters (probably not Jess unless I get some inspiration). A few other things have to happen first, but I promise they will appear. Enjoy!

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_**Chapter Five**_

Between work and spending every possible minute together, the next month seemed to fly by for Rory and Tristan. It was now early September and Rory and Tristan had been dating for 6 weeks. He had practically moved in with her only going back to his apartment to get the mail and sometimes when he had an early meeting as it was closer to his office than Rory's apartment. Those nights were not spent apart though; Rory would just pack a bag and spend the night at his place.

Thursday morning, before Tristan left for work, he told her, "I have a meeting with my grandfather in Hartford this afternoon; I won't be back until later tonight."

"Since we have Friday night dinner tomorrow, why don't you just stay at your parent's house rather than drive back to the city tonight. I will ask Finn if Joe can drive me to their house tomorrow and we can go to my grandparent's together. I'm sure you can take some stuff with you for tomorrow so that you aren't really missing a day of work. I would offer to come with you today, but I have a couple of interviews set up that I can't miss," Rory suggested.

'Hmm, that might be a good idea,' Tristan thought to himself, a plan starting to take form in his mind. "I guess that will work," he replied, trying to look unaffected as his plans for the night and next morning became clearer. But inside his head he was jumping for joy at the opportunity she had just given him.

Tristan kissed Rory goodbye and left for his office to gather the things he would need for his trip to Hartford.

That same morning, Francine Hayden sat in her study at Straub's old desk. She had just finished reading through the documents her lawyer had sent her that morning. Smiling she picked up a picture of her four grandchildren taken earlier that summer. She and Rory didn't always have the relationship that they had now. Francine hated that she missed watching Rory grow into the wonderful woman that she is now. She looked at the documents and thought to herself, 'I know it won't make up for the 22 years I missed, but I know I made the right decision.' Picking up the phone, Francine began to arrange a meeting.

A few blocks away, Richard called Emily into his study to discuss the papers he had finally received from his lawyer.

"Emily, our trip to London was successful. That final detail with Trix's estate that was caught in red tape has been resolved. Now we can go ahead with our plans."

"Oh Richard, that is wonderful. That gives me one month to finalize all of the details."

"Now Emily, we really should talk to Lorelai and Christopher about this soon. Will they be coming to Friday night dinner tomorrow? Maybe they can come over before Rory arrives so we have a chance to talk to them alone."

"I will call Lorelai right now to make sure that she hasn't come down with some rare 24-hour disease that only affects Friday night dinners and tell her to make arrangements to get here early," Emily rolled her eyes and walked out of Richard's study.

Meanwhile, in Star's Hallow, Lorelai was questioning herself as to why she ever thought having more kids was a good idea, especially twin boys. She had gone outside to the newspaper box to get the New York Times so she could read Rory's latest article, and they had teamed up on her again. She was in danger of losing to the three year old boys.

"Christopher Benjamin, you put down that hose and get over here right now. Alexander Richard, do not even think about turning on the water. Boys I mean it. I just got ready for work and I do not have time to make myself look this pretty again before I have to get you to Lane and Zach's house and Gigi to school." Hearing the commotion, Gigi came outside and picked up Alex before he could turn on the water. Just then the phone began to ring. Thanking Gigi for saving her, she scooped Ben up and ran back into the house before the machine could answer.

"Hayden residence," she answered too worn out from the twins and the added stress of running to think of anything clever.

"Lorelai, this is Francine. I know you have your monthly Friday night dinner tomorrow. Since Rory will be in town for it, I was hoping that we all could get together Saturday afternoon. I have something that I need to discuss with you, Christopher and Rory."

"Well, I guess we can. Rory is bringing Tristan with her and we are going to have a movie night on Saturday, so we can make time before that to come to Hartford," Lorelai said.

"Great, I'll see you all around 1 on Saturday afternoon. Goodbye Lorelai."

Lorelai put down the phone and turned to the boys sitting on the couch. She was just about to start talking to them about not spraying Mommy with the hose when the phone rang again.

Thinking it might be Francine again she answered, "Hayden Residence."

"Hello Lorelai, this is your mother. Something I said in the past must have finally gotten into that head of yours to make you understand how to properly answer your phone. It's refreshing."

"Hello mother. If you would like, you can call back and I can to answer the phone in an improper way if you are feeling too much like you have entered the Twilight Zone."

"No Lorelai, that won't be necessary. Your father and I have something we need to discuss with you, Christopher and Rory."

"Whoa, déjà vu." Lorelai shook her head and tried to focus on her mother. "Never mind; continue."

"We were hoping you could arrive early so that we can go over some of the details before Rory joins us."

"Fine, Chris, the kids and I will be there at 6. Oh, by the way, you know that Rory is bringing Tristan with her, right?" Lorelai asked.

"She mentioned it when I talked to her yesterday. They really are serious aren't they? What do you think of him? Oh, I am so excited. Just imagine his blond hair and her blue eyes on a little baby."

"Yes they are serious. I think he is really good for her. I think he is the one for her. I'm pretty sure they both are thinking the same way. Oh, and I don't have to imagine his blond hair and her blue eyes on a baby; I am looking at two identical blond hair, blue eyed little boys who are shredding my morning newspaper as we speak. I have to let you go before they tear up Rory's sections before I can read them. We will see you tomorrow. Bye mom."

"Goodbye Lorelai." Emily ended the phone call with a smile on her face imagining the perfect wedding and life that Rory and Tristan will have.

Tristan's meeting with Janlen DuGrey had gone well that afternoon. Tristan caught him up to date with everything that had been happening to JD Corporation in New York. Lately Janlen had been spending more time in Hartford and away from headquarters, giving Tristan the opportunity to take on more responsibility.

After they finished talking business, Janlen inquired about Rory. He had met her a few times since they had started dating and knew exactly what his grandson saw in her. They were perfect for one another and he knew it was just going to be a matter of time before Rory joined the family.

"Rory is absolutely perfect Grandpa. She is everything I want and I know she feels the same way about me. I think I am ready to ask her to marry me. I realize it's only been six weeks, but I'm not afraid that she'll say no. Both of us feel like we have been together for years. I love her so much."

Janlen smiled at his only grandson and opened his desk drawer to take out the black box that he had removed from his safe earlier that day. "I know your grandmother would have loved her. She told me to give you her ring when I thought that you had found the one that made you as happy as she said I made her. She said that the ring might not be exactly what you want for the woman you love, but she gave her permission for you to have it reset if you think something else would suit her better. She wanted to leave something of hers for the woman who captured your heart."

Tristan took the box that Janlen offered him and opened it. "It doesn't need to be reset. I think this is perfect for her. Thank you Grandpa." The two men had dinner before Tristan had to leave. There was a stop he needed to make that night.

Tristan sat in his car staring at the blue house in front of him. The lights were on and he could see the two people who could affect his whole future watching a movie. Tristan got out of his car, walked up the porch steps and took a deep breath before knocking on the door.

Christopher and Lorelai both got up to find out who was at the door.

"Tristan, come on in. Did we know you were coming? Rory didn't say anything when I talked to her this afternoon." Lorelai looked at him with confusion.

"Hi Lorelai, Christopher. Rory doesn't know that I am here. She thinks I'm at my parent's house in Hartford right now. I wanted to talk to you both alone," Tristan said nervously.

"Have a seat; can I get you something to drink?" Christopher asked. Tristan shook his head no as he sat in the chair by the stairs; Christopher sat down on the couch with Lorelai.

"If Rory thinks you are in Hartford, what are you doing here?" Lorelai asked.

"Well, you see, I love your daughter. I know we just started dating, but there isn't a bit of doubt in my mind that she is the only one I will ever love. I was hoping I would be able to get your permission to ask her to marry me," Tristan said with hope and a bit of worry in his eyes.

Christopher and Lorelai looked at each other. Lorelai secretly winked at him and gave him a look that said, 'play along.' Then she turned to Tristan and narrowed her eyes, while Christopher crossed his arms and clenched his jaw. "Why don't you go to Luke's and get me some coffee while we discuss this."

Lorelai and Christopher sat on the couch until they heard Tristan's car pull away from the house. As soon as she was sure he was gone, Lorelai got off the couch and started jumping up and down squealing. Christopher smiled as he watched his wife. "Oh my gosh, Chris, this is so great. I knew the second I saw them together that he was the one for her. Oh I wonder when he will propose. I don't think I will be able to keep this a secret. How will I face her this weekend? She will know that I know something and that stupid reporter gene will kick in and she will try to weasel it out of me. They will have to stay at the inn because there is no way that I will be able to keep this to myself."

Christopher laughed and said, "So I take it we are going to give him permission? Tristan was right that day we met him; they are exactly like us. When you're given the chance to be with the one you love again, you take it and you don't let anything stand in your way, even if you are a bit impulsive. I just hope we get to be there for her wedding."

Tristan returned quickly with coffee for Lorelai. He brought it into the house and walked toward the couch where Lorelai had once again sat next to Christopher. "So?" he asked nervously holding his breath.

"Of course you can marry her; I just really wanted coffee. We ran out at dinner and didn't want to walk to Luke's again tonight." She didn't even try to look guilty as she took the cup from Tristan as he visibly relaxed.

"You have our permission. Take care of our girl. When do you think you'll ask her?" Christopher inquired.

"Soon, probably tomorrow before dinner at the Gilmore's. If I don't show up for dinner than you will know it didn't go well." he said as he began to form another plan now that he had their permission.

Lorelai shook her head and said, "Don't worry; she's ready. She loves you. She won't say no."

Tristan left their house to begin putting his plan into action. He made a few calls on his way back to Hartford.

"Hey Finn, I'm working on something special for Rory. I know she is borrowing Joe tomorrow to get to Hartford, but can you help me?" Tristan filled Finn in on his plans and got him to agree to help.

Rory left work at noon on Friday so she could get ready to go to Hartford. As she walked into her apartment she found Finn sitting in her living room with a dress box in his lap.

"Welcome home love, Tristan ordered this dress knowing that the Gilmore's have something important to tell you tonight and he wanted you to avoid the usual 'what to wear' dilemma. He asked me to deliver it to your apartment because you will not be going to his parent's house. He said that he had some things he had to do and that Joe had the address of your new meeting place."

"Thanks Finn. You know you didn't have to wait for me; you could have just left the dress with a note and I would have followed the directions."

"What fun would that be? I wasn't allowed to look at the dress, only pick it up and deliver it and I want to see what it looks like. I'm extremely curious by nature and need to know what is in this box."

"Fine Finn, you can wait while I get ready, but you have to make me some coffee."

Rory went to her room and opened the dress box. Inside was a light blue strapless cocktail dress with a flowing skirt and crystal beading throughout, making the dress appear to sparkle. She showered, dried and did her hair leaving it hang down in soft curls. Then, she put the dress on and twirled in front of the mirror. She had absolutely fallen in love with the dress when she heard Finn knock on the door and slowly open it. "I think I am ready Finn. What do you think?"

"Here is your coffee. Oh no, no, no. That will just not do. I can't believe you would think you can go anywhere looking like that." Finn covered his eyes with a look of disgust on his face.

Rory looked crushed. "I thought the dress looked perfect. What's wrong with it?" She turned back to the mirror and missed the smirk on Finn's face. He walked up behind her and put a diamond necklace around her neck.

"There is absolutely nothing wrong with the dress; but I am in shock that you would think to try leaving without jewelry. You know Emily Gilmore would never approve; now you look perfect," Finn winked as he fastened the clasp.

"Finn, this necklace is too much; you shouldn't have gotten this for me." Rory gasped as she looked at the necklace.

"I didn't; Tristan did." He admitted. Then he began to rant, "I just had to get up at an ungodly hour and become his errand boy today. 'Finn, go to Barneys. Finn, go to Cartier. Finn, don't open the dress box.' _One time_ he saw me put on a dress and now he won't trust me to just look and not touch. He needs to have more faith in me; blue is simply not my color, it clashes too much with my eyes."

Rory laughed and said, "I've seen you in blue, it really isn't your color, at least not this shade."

"Thank you so much for doing all of this Finn. I'm sure Tristan appreciates it and I know that I do." She kissed him on the cheek as she gathered her purse and the bag she had packed earlier with her things for the weekend and they left the apartment.

"Have a good weekend, love." Finn gave her a hug and helped her into the waiting limo. He watched as the limo drove away and pulled out his cell phone to let Tristan know she was on her way.

"Miss Hayden, I was told to give you this when we arrived." Joe helped her out of the limo and handed her a note.

Rory looked at the building in front of her and wondered what Tristan's reason was for bringing her here. Opening the note she got her answer. 'Hey Mary, I had a meeting here today with Headmaster Charleston and thought it would be fun to go back to where it all began. Meet me where we first saw each other.'

Rory smiled and walked inside Chilton. She walked straight to Mr. Remmy's classroom, Room 110; it was where she first saw him and where he first called her Mary. Entering the room she looked around; Tristan wasn't there. She reread the note trying to figure out where Tristan thought they first saw each other. 'Maybe he meant the hallway where we first talked,' she thought.

She turned around to leave when she noticed him leaning against the door frame watching her. She smiled as he walked over to her and took her left hand in his right. He kissed her and said, "You look beautiful."

She blushed thanked him, both for the compliment and for the dress and necklace. He kissed her again, then still holding her hand he got down on one knee.

"Lorelai Leigh Gilmore Hayden. Rory. These last six weeks have been the most incredible ones of my life. I have known since I was 16 that I loved you; but now I am hopelessly, undeniably _in_ _love_ with you. I want to spend the rest of my life growing even more in love with you each day. Will you marry me? Mary?" Tristan held the ring up in front of her as he spoke. His eyes were full of love as he looked into her tear-filled eyes.

There was absolutely no question in Rory's mind that he was the right one for her. Without hesitation she nodded her head as she said, "Yes Tristan, I will marry you." He put the ring on her finger and kissed her again.

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A/N: Cheesy? Yes. A bit predictable? Yes. A lot of fluff? Yes. Did you like it? Click the review button and let me know!


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls or any music, movies, places or people mentioned or quoted.

A/N: Thank you again for all of the reviews. I want to especially thank those of you who have reviewed each chapter. Thank you to troybrucaslover for your dedication to getting me a review when the site caused you problems. Enjoy the grandparents' big announcements.

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_**Chapter Six **_

The newly engaged Rory and Tristan walked the halls of Chilton reminiscing about their high school days. "What kind of meeting did you have here today with Headmaster Charleston? Did he want to talk about a renovation or addition to Chilton?" Rory asked as they walked.

"He didn't actually arrange the meeting; I did. I called him this morning to get permission to bring you here to propose. He was a bit hesitant at first to have me in the school, not to mention leaving me alone in a classroom. He didn't believe that you and I would actually be together. It took him making a few phone calls while I waited in his office before he finally believed that I wasn't here to pull a prank for old-time's sake."

"How many phone calls did he make and who did he call?" Rory wondered.

"Three. The first call he made didn't exactly convince him that I was being truthful. He called Lorelai and even though she told him that we were dating and that I had asked her permission to marry you, which she and your dad gave me by the way, he thought that she was and I quote, 'in cahoots' with me. I guess she was too serious and tried a little too hard to convince him for him to believe her. His next call was to my grandfather who told him that he had given me my grandmother's ring that I was going to give to you. Still not fully convinced, he called Richard because he knew he would tell him the truth. Your grandfather told him that I really did want to propose and he then realized that I was serious."

"How did my Grandpa know that you wanted to propose?" she asked as they walked down a hall.

"I went to see him and Emily and also to see Francine this morning before I made the appointment with Charleston. Even though I had your parent's permission I wanted to make sure that I had your grandparent's permission too. I know how much you respect them all and I needed to know that they would approve of this also. They all did approve if you are wondering." Tristan replied smiling.

"Wow. I can't believe you did all of that for me." They had stopped walking in front of Rory's old locker.

Tristan looked at her and smirked. "You know, there is always something I wanted to do." He leaned into to kiss her and pressed her against the locker. She hooked her arms around his neck and ran her fingers through his hair, while his hands began to wander up and down her sides and hips. As Tristan began kissing down her neck they heard someone clearing his throat.

Blushing they pulled apart as Headmaster Charleston stood behind them with his arms crossed. "I knew it wasn't a good idea to leave you alone in this school Mr. DuGrey. Up to your old tricks I see. I'm not sure how you managed to win over Miss Gilmore Hayden here, but congratulations. Now get out of my school," he said sternly but with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Thank you for your help sir," Tristan said as they turned and walked hand in hand to his car to go to the Gilmore's house for dinner.

Promptly at 6, Lorelai, Christopher and the kids arrived at the Gilmore's house. They were all anxious to see if Rory and Tristan were in fact engaged. But Richard and Emily had other things to discuss first. Gigi, Alex and Ben went to the playroom that Emily had created a few years ago while the adults had drinks in the living room.

"We wanted to discuss something with you both before Rory gets here. We will go into all of the details once Rory and Tristan arrive, but we wanted to tell you both first. If they are engaged he will need to know about this too. Trix left her estate to Rory when she passed. We wanted to let you know that though you did not receive her estate, you will be receiving most of Emily and my estate someday. We didn't want you to be blindsided when you heard the news tonight."

Lorelai was shocked. She wasn't surprised that Trix's estate wasn't left to her. What really surprised her was that her parents would leave any of their estate to her; she always assumed that they would just pass it on to the grandchildren. She didn't know what to say. "Thank you," she said with sincerity.

"We're not dead yet Lorelai. Don't get too excited," Emily said bitingly.

"I actually meant to thank you mom; I wasn't trying-. You know, never mind. I can't win," Lorelai said as she sighed. Christopher took her hand to help calm her. The doorbell rang capturing everyone's attention.

When the maid answered the door, Rory came rushing into the living room pulling Tristan behind her.

"We're engaged!" she cried holding up her left hand.

Richard got Rory and Tristan a drink as they sat down and told their story.

"That was Elizabeth's ring wasn't it? I always thought it was the most beautiful ring I had ever seen," Emily said while admiring the ring on Rory's finger during dinner.

Tristan and Rory both nodded as Rory looked again at the diamond band with an eight carat oval shaped center stone encircled in smaller diamonds. "It is the most beautiful ring; I always thought I would want something more simple, but this one is perfect," she said.

"Congratulations to both of you. I know you will make each other very happy. But now to the reason we invited you to dinner tonight," Richard said as he stood up before the group who had reconvened in the living room for coffee after dinner.

"As you may know, Trix's estate was quite large; and when she passed she left it in my care. Trix loved getting to know the third Lorelai and wanted her to inherit the estate. She put a clause in the will stating that we were to keep the estate a secret until Rory turned 25 _and_ all of the estate was settled. It took longer than expected to straighten out all of the money and properties; but we finally finished. Everything will be set to transfer to you, Rory, on your 26th birthday next month."

"She left everything to me? What exactly am I inheriting?" Rory asked a bit scared to know the answer.

"She had quite a few houses and apartments, some of which have been sold as per her instruction, many stocks and bonds, some of those have also been sold, along with a substantial sum of money." Richard paused and looked at Rory before continuing. "All together the whole estate is worth just over 18 billion dollars."

"I always knew Gran was loaded, but I never would have imagined it was that much," Lorelai said as she drank her coffee trying to absorb the information. Suddenly she got excited and said, "Oh, now you have to buy me new shoes!"

"Rory? Are you alright? You haven't said anything yet," Emily said trying to get a response from Rory.

Rory was having a hard time trying to remember how to do anything let alone talk. After a couple of minutes spent in silence with everyone watching Rory sit completely still, she finally whispered, "Wow." Tristan squeezed Rory's hand reassuringly.

Feeling his hand in hers seemed to snap Rory out of her trance. She shook her head trying to clear it. "I'm fine. That was just a really big shock. So, what do I need to do now?" she asked.

Richard beamed with pride as he watched his granddaughter come to terms with her fate. "You don't have to do much right now, just sign some paperwork and the lawyers will take care of most of it. The estate will be fully transferred to you on your birthday. We are planning a society birthday party for you that night and will make a formal announcement then. "

"Okay, I think it is time to call it a night. We have to get the kids home and to bed and I am sure Rory and Tristan have a lot to talk about," Christopher said.

As everyone gathered the kids and their things to leave, Rory followed Richard into his study where she signed the necessary paperwork.

As Tristan and Rory got into his car, Lorelai called out, "Remember that we have lunch with Francine tomorrow at 1. We will meet you there. Have fun tonight!"

"How do you really feel about all of this?" Tristan asked as they drove to the Dragonfly.

"Honestly, it's really overwhelming; but it's not bad. I was always taught to run from society; but I never hated it the way mom did. I will still be me, just with a whole lot more money. How do you feel about it?" she asked.

"I love you. It was a big surprise, but I really don't care how much money you have. I would rather focus on what happened before we arrived at the Gilmore's house tonight."

"I think we can manage to do that. I love you too Tristan." They went to their room at the Dragonfly and spent the rest of the night celebrating.

Saturday afternoon everyone arrived at Francine Hayden's house just before 1. Lorelai walked to the door with Rory and asked, "So kid, how are you taking last night's news?"

"I've accepted it. I mean yeah it was a huge shock but I think it will be alright" Rory said honestly.

"Francine said she had some news to tell us too, but I don't think anything can top last night's bombshell." Lorelai laughed as she rang the doorbell.

Francine gushed over Rory's ring and listened as they retold their engagement story. No one mentioned the news the Gilmore's had delivered because they knew Francine had her own news to share. They didn't want to overshadow whatever it was she had to say.

After lunch, the younger kids played in the backyard while the adults gathered on the patio to enjoy the warm September day.

"I'm so happy that you and Tristan are getting married. Elizabeth DuGrey and I were great friends and I know she would be happy for you too," Francine smiled at the pair and then continued. "I have some news that I want to share with all of you."

"Rory, how much of my family history do you know?" Francine asked.

"I really don't know much of anything, only that you also have the family history of attending Yale," she admitted.

"That's true, but there is a bit more to it than that. My grandfather was Charles Harkness."

"As in Harkness Tower?" Rory asked astounded. Harkness Tower is a prominent Gothic structure at Yale and houses the Yale Memorial Carillon. She had always loved that tower and its bells.

"Yes. You aren't the only person in the family to have a building at Yale named after you. He was also one of the founders of the Life and Death Brigade. If you would have applied to Yale under the name Hayden instead of Gilmore the connection might have been made and you would have known you were a double legacy.

Now, onto the real news. My mother's brother, William Harkness, recently passed away. He was a bachelor and the sole heir to the Harkness fortune. He had done really well for himself through various investments with his inheritance and hardly spent a penny on anything material throughout his life. We did not have a close relationship as he was a bit eccentric and lived most of his life as a recluse. However, everything he had was left to me," Francine paused before she said, "and I am giving it to you, Rory."

"What? You're giving me your inheritance?" Rory asked in disbelief.

"Well not all of it. You will be getting 75 percent of it. I will be putting one billion into my own estate to be given to you, Christopher, when I die. Gigi, Alex and Ben will all have trusts put into place worth three billion each which they will receive when they are 25." Francine let them absorb the news.

Rory's eyes grew extremely wide as she did the math in her head twice. "You're giving me 30 billion dollars?" She pinched herself thinking 'This must be a dream. I received such big news last night that my mind is playing tricks on me making me think that I'm awake and at Grandma Francine's house and that she is giving me a fortune.' "Ouch," she said as she pinched too hard.

"Are you okay?" Francine asked.

"You mean this isn't a dream? You really just told me all of that? You and the Gilmores didn't get together and plan this all as a big joke, did you?" she asked in a daze.

"No, this isn't a dream. Why would you think it is?"

"Oh, no reason," Rory squeaked as she begins to hyperventilate.

"Mom, this is the second time in the past," Chris looks at his watch, "18 hours that she has been told she is the heiress to multi-billion dollar fortunes. I think she needs a paper bag."

Lorelai ran into the house to find the maid to get a bag, while Tristan tried to calm her down by rubbing circles on her back. After breathing for a few minutes into the bag the maid brought her, Rory got herself under control again.

"I'm so sorry about that Grandma. I didn't mean to freak out, but it's a lot to take in all at once. Are you really sure you want me to be the Harkness Heiress? I mean Gigi is just as much your granddaughter, she could be the heiress."

"Gigi would have to wait almost another 18 years to inherit it. The way that the trusts are set up, the initial amount of money will most likely double, or even triple, by the time your siblings are 25. I have thought long and hard about this; I want you to be the heiress Rory." Francine placed her hand on Rory's and looked into her oldest granddaughter's eyes. "Please Rory."

Sighing Rory said, "I'm guessing you have papers I need to sign."

"My lawyers said that the transfer can take place on your birthday. I spoke with Emily recently and she asked my help in organizing a society birthday party for you and I think that would be the perfect time to make the announcement."

"It might as well all come out at the same time. I really am thankful Grandma; I know it may not seem that way right now, but I just had my whole life change twice in the past few hours and need a little time to adjust."

Rory signed the paperwork and when they were leaving she turned to Lorelai and said, "I think I need a movie night. And coffee, lots and lots of coffee, maybe even an Irish coffee."

Lorelai clapped. "I'll get the movies, your dad will get Al's and Chinese, we should tackle all the chicken dishes, and you and Tristan get the candy, all the good salty snacks and Luke's coffee. Ooh, and get pie if Luke has any left. I will stop by Westin's after the video store and get cake and maybe some rum balls if they have them to go with your Irish coffee!"

"That sounds great mom, have dad get crab rangoon and egg rolls too; we will meet you back at the house." Rory and Tristan got into the car and he just sat there without turning on the car. Tristan stared at Rory with a shocked expression on his face.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Is this too much to deal with? Do you not want to marry me anymore? We don't have to do anything with the money; we can just pretend it doesn't exist, try to forget about it. I didn't ask for any of this you know." Rory got more worried and frantic with each statement.

"Are you serious, are we really going to get all of that food? There is no possible way we can eat all of that," he said doubtingly.

"This isn't about the money?" she asked incredulously.

"I don't care about the money. It is a lot to deal with but I can manage. Of course I still want to marry you. Don't be silly. But truthfully, are we getting all of that food?"

Rory laughed and nodded her head. "You are about to experience something absolutely incredible. Take off your shoes, untuck your shirt and unbuckle your belt, you are in for a wild night."

Everyone returned to the Hayden house loaded down with food and drinks. Lorelai and Christopher had dropped the kids off at Sookie and Jackson's house to spend the night. Lorelai told Sookie the brief version of the past day's events and about the desperate need for an uninterrupted movie night.

Once the food was spread out on the coffee table and coffee was in hand, Lorelai stood up and announced, "Tonight for our viewing pleasure I have three movies. I decided that romance and comedy were what we needed to go along with our theme of the weekend." She held up _It Could Happen to You, Brewster's Millions _and _Mr. Deeds_.

Rolling her eyes and reaching for an egg roll, Rory said, "Great choices Mom." And they all settled in for a night of excessive food and funny movies.

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A/N: I wanted the amounts she received to be extreme. I warned you in the summary that it would be a socialite story! Next up, Huntzberger reactions and more! The survey idea seemed to work better than just asking for reviews so I am going to try that again. Choose one of the following options below, click the review button and type the letter of your choice! Thank you!

A) I love it! Please update quickly so I can learn how the Huntzbergers take the news.

B) I'm not exactly sure how I feel about this chapter; maybe the next one will be better.

C) You lost me. Thanks for trying.

D) (Create your own comment)


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls or any music, movies, places or people mentioned or quoted.

A/N: Thank you all again for the reviews. They make my day each time I see a new one!

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_**Chapter Seven**_

'You are cordially invited to the 26th Birthday celebration of Lorelai Hayden to be held at the Grand Ballroom in The Hartford Country Club. Friday, the eighth of October, two thousand and ten, at seven o'clock. Black tie.' Shira Huntzberger had been beside herself with excitement when she received the invitation. She had never been invited to one of the Hayden functions. The Haydens were such an influential family and though the Huntzbergers were also, Hayden functions were normally very intimate and only for the bluest blood. Not even everyone in the DAR was included on Francine's past lists. What she wouldn't give for Logan to meet and marry this Lorelai girl. If only she hadn't insisted he see that Fallon girl again once he finally got rid of that little gold-digger Rory Gilmore. Maybe he would reconsider his relationship with Sarah Fallon if this Lorelai Hayden was available. She decided to call Logan and insist that he come to the party.

And that is how on October 8th Logan found himself walking through the doors of the Hartford Country Club with Sarah Fallon hanging on his arm. He had no idea why he was here except that his mother had called and insisted that he attend a Hartford function; and since he had rejoined his father's company last year he had no choice but to attend. He didn't even know who or what was being celebrated. 'At least there will be an open bar,' he thought.

Tristan was at the bar with Finn and Caitlin getting drinks for Rory and himself before she was to be presented to the society members and the invited press. Caitlin was attending with Finn and as a member of the press. She would be writing the story for the New York Times. It was actually already written except for the details of the night. She had interviewed Rory and Tristan earlier and would be the only member of the press to get an exclusive interview.

Logan approached the bar and saw Finn talking to Tristan DuGrey. Logan and Tristan had only met a few times at society parties in high school and didn't get along the best because they always had been chasing after similar, and sometimes the same, girls. Logan approached Finn and sneered at him, "I didn't think I would have to see your back-stabbing face here. I thought you would be in New York with her. If you're here, she is too, isn't she?" Logan looked around trying to find Rory. He nodded at Tristan, "DuGrey."

Tristan set his society face and acknowledged him, "Huntzberger." He turned away from Logan and said, "Finn, I'm being summoned, I'm going to go deliver this drink. I'll see you later." He walked across the room and through a door leading to a dressing room where Emily had disappeared to after catching Tristan's glance.

Logan finally noticed Caitlin; he leered at her and smirked. "So, you must be Finn's flavor of the week. Still chasing after the redheads I see. Logan Huntzberger. And you are?"

Caitlin plastered a sweet smile on her face and replied, "Caitlin Kelly and we have been together for a year and a half." Recognition crossed Logan's face, "You work for the Times, I've read some of your articles; they are really good. Tell me, what do you know about R. G. Hayden, any relation to the Hartford Haydens? Hayden's writing is incredible; my father and I have been trying to get in contact to lure Hayden away from the Times. We can't find any information though, we don't even know if Hayden is a man or a woman."

It took everything inside Caitlin not to burst out laughing. She raised her head high and said with innocence, "I'm not sure what I can tell you. The Times has a lot of employees and I can't say I that even know everyone in my department. Though I am sure you will eventually find out something about Hayden if you dig hard enough."

"Why are you here tonight Logan? You're not going to win her back; and judging by the engagement ring on _her_ finger," he nodded toward Sarah Fallon, "you shouldn't even be looking for Rory."

"Who is Rory?" Sarah asked. Finn rolled his eyes.

Logan ignored Sarah and answered Finn, "I'm here because my mother insisted I be here. I'm not looking for Rory; though you might want to keep her away from me because you are right, I am taken and I wouldn't want her to get her hopes up that I will take her back. What is going on here tonight anyway?"

"You're in for a treat tonight mate." Finn shook his head and led Caitlin away from a confused Logan and an oblivious Sarah.

"Logan, get over here, rumor has it there are going to be some big announcements in the next few minutes. Oh, you brought Sarah." Shira crinkled her nose and walked away.

Emily and Richard came out of the dressing room and walked out onto the stage as Logan approached his parents. "Oh great, I finally get invited to a Hayden party and I have to listen to Emily Gilmore speak. Why would Francine Hayden allow her to ruin the night? I thought that Francine was going to introduce her granddaughter and make some announcement; but no, Emily always has to be the center of attention." Shira said bitingly.

"Logan, I saw you speaking with Caitlin Kelly just now. You need to find out if she knows R. G. Hayden. Hello Sarah, welcome to the family. I must say you are an improvement over Rory. She had very little talent or connections and was definitely not as worthy of marrying into our family as you are," Mitchum said bluntly.

"Who is Rory?" Sarah asked.

Logan ignored Sarah again and said, "I already asked her dad. She didn't seem to know anything about R. G. Hayden; but she's dating Finn so you know she can't be smart. She can write well, but maybe it is a Rain Man-like talent."

Emily approached the microphone and the crowd quieted quickly. "I know you are all anxiously awaiting the arrival of the birthday girl, but Richard and I wanted to make an announcement regarding our granddaughter, Rory Gilmore, first."

"Who is Rory?" Sarah whispered to Logan. "Shh," he said leaning forward a bit to hear the information about Rory.

"We are proud to announce that our granddaughter, as of today, is the sole heiress to the fortune left by Charles and Lorelai Gilmore. We know there will be questions; but please, wait until after Francine Hayden has made her announcement. Thank you."

"The Gilmore fortune, like that is much. Now she will probably be able to pay off her student loans to her grandparents. Emily once told me that they lent the money to the little gold-digger, Rory, for Yale. I guess they will finally get it back. Maybe she will have some left to get an apartment since she can't find a good job," Shira said snidely as everyone in the room began talking about the Gilmore's revelation. Mitchum laughed and Logan looked around hoping to find Rory.

Francine approached the microphone and again the crowd quieted. "That is wonderful news Emily and Richard, congratulations to Rory. Now I have some similar news. My uncle, William Harkness, recently passed away. I am sure many of you in attendance tonight recognize that name, especially those of you with connections to Yale. I am proud to announce my granddaughter as the heiress of the Harkness fortune tonight. She is a Yale Alumna, class of 2007."

"Logan, why didn't you bring her home as your girlfriend instead of Rory? That would have been a respectable girl for you. No offence Sarah," Shira finished unconvincingly.

"Who is Rory?" Sarah said getting a bit agitated.

'Oh crap, we missed inducting the Harkness legacy into the LDB? And she is part Hayden? That is not going to be good once this news is discovered by the LDB alumni board. And how did I miss someone with those connections; she should have been in my group of friends; I should have dated her," Logan thought. 'Unless she was ugly,' he added as an afterthought.

"In a moment I would like to introduce to you, my granddaughter, and the birthday girl, Lorelai Hayden. She will be giving a statement to the press in attendance tonight, as well as to all of our friends gathered together to share this occasion with us." The crowd began looking around for the guest of honor. Francine continued, "Escorted by her fiancé, Tristan DuGrey, I present to you, Lorelai Leigh Gilmore Hayden, also known as Rory Gilmore."

The crowd gasped and broke into applause as they realized that the two heiresses announced tonight were in fact the same person.

"Is this the same Rory you were talking about before?" Sarah asked as Logan, Mitchum and Shira paled.

"Dad, R. G. Hayden. Rory Gilmore Hayden. Shit!" Logan exclaimed.

A spotlight focused on the doorway where Rory and Tristan appeared. Rory wore a navy blue chiffon evening gown with a fitted twisted bodice and a star cutout back from which a short train flowed. Tristan was dressed to match in his black tuxedo and navy blue cummerbund. They looked absolutely perfect together as they entered the ballroom and walked to the stage, Rory holding onto Tristan's bent left elbow, her left hand placed lightly on top of her right displaying her engagement ring.

Rory kissed Tristan a bit longer and deeper than normally appropriate for society; but it helped calm her nerves and showed everyone in attendance that they were really in love. After the kiss Rory approached the microphone and Tristan stood to her side and slightly behind her.

"Good evening. Thank you for coming tonight to celebrate my 26th birthday. I am guessing that none of you expected the evening to be so full of revelations. I would like to thank my Grandmothers, Francine and Emily, and my Grandfather, Richard, for hosting this momentous occasion. I am sure that there are many questions, especially from the press in attendance, and I will do my best to answer them," Rory said with poise.

Rory's lawyer opened the floor to questions. "Miss Hayden, when did you learn of your inheritances?"

"I learned of the Gilmore inheritance on the evening of September 10th and the Harkness inheritance on the afternoon of September 11th. It was an extremely surprising weekend."

"Miss Hayden, when did you and Mr. DuGrey become engaged?"

"Tristan proposed the afternoon of September 10th, before we attended dinner at the Gilmore residence."

"Miss Hayden, Mr. DuGrey, did either of you know anything of the inheritances before that weekend?"

"No, we did not. I hope you are not insinuating that Tristan only proposed to me because of my inheritances." Rory replied to this reporter with a steely edge to her voice.

"I have loved Rory since I was 16 years old and whether or not she has money does not matter to me. I have my own inheritance to provide for me and for us," Tristan clarified.

"When will you be getting married?"

"We will be married on Saturday, December 18th."

"Miss Hayden, how much have you have inherited?" one bold reporter asked.

"I'll bet it wasn't that much; at least not from the Gilmore's. She may have a better sum as the Harkness heiress, but really, how much could that be? If it was significant we would have known Francine was a Harkness and William Harkness would have been one of the prominent members of society. I haven't even heard that name, except in history books. The only reason this is getting any attention is because the Gilmores and Haydens want to be noticed. I was right the first time I said that Rory Gilmore wasn't good enough for our family," Shira said confidently.

'She looks gorgeous. She also looks happy. How the hell did she ever get together with DuGrey? Finn! He did it! I really hate him now!' Logan was seething internally.

None of the Huntzbergers noticed Tristan's parents, Michael and Natalie DuGrey, standing behind them as they shared their opinions not so discretely. The DuGreys had spent a lot of time getting to know Rory in the past couple of months and loved that she would soon be their daughter-in-law. They knew of Rory's past experiences with the Huntzberger family and were curious as to how the Huntzbergers would react to the evening's news. They wanted to protect the interests of their family but never imagined that they would get quite as much information as they did. Michael decided he would have to schedule a meeting with Richard and his father to discuss everything he had heard.

Rory's lawyer stepped in to answer the reporter's question. "Including all properties, stock, bonds and money, as the Gilmore heiress she inherited 18 billion dollars and as the Harkness heiress she inherited 30 billion dollars."

As most of the crowd gasped, Shira Huntzberger fainted.

Pushing through the crowd of paparazzi gathered outside of Luke's late Saturday morning, Lindsay Lister walked inside to pick up her ex-husband, now boyfriend's lunch.

Lindsay and her family had moved away from Stars Hollow after she and Dean had divorced and she had only moved back a few weeks ago after Dean had convinced her that he had changed. Except for a bit of old gossip, she hadn't kept up to date on what had happened in Stars Hollow and since she had been back she hadn't even heard the name Gilmore. She had really hoped it meant that the Gilmores had finally moved somewhere else.

Then she noticed the home wrecker, Rory Gilmore sitting at a table in the far corner with her mother and two blond men. Dean had assured her that everything with Rory was a mistake and wouldn't happen again; but she still didn't trust Rory.

"Hey Luke, do you have any linked sausages?" Lorelai yelled.

Luke rolled his eyes and handed Lindsay her order and headed over to their table with coffee.

'What are all of those people doing here, oh I wonder if someone famous is coming to town and they're going to eat at Luke's?' Lindsay wondered. She took one more look at Rory before she left with Dean's lunch. 'I wish I could sit around Luke's all day waiting for someone famous. It's not like Rory Gilmore has a life. I heard she got arrested and now can't even find a job. I used to envy her; now I almost pity her. It will probably be the highlight of her year to see someone famous,' thought Lindsay as she walked through the crowd again.

Lindsay didn't pay much attention to the paparazzi but a few things caught her attention. "…heiress to two multi-billion dollar fortunes." "…and a Hayden too." "…Harkness heiress." "… and she's engaged to the DuGrey heir." "I heard her ring has an eight carat center stone." Lindsay's curiosity was peaked and she rushed to the newsstand hoping to find a newspaper with some information.

It wasn't hard to find out the reason Star's Hollow was crawling with paparazzi. The cover of every newspaper and tabloid had similar headlines. Lindsay picked one up and read, 'Lorelai Leigh Gilmore Hayden, 26, Announces Engagement to Tristan DuGrey and Reveals She is Double Heiress to 48 Billion dollars.' The headlines were followed by pictures of Rory and Tristan the previous night. Most showed the engagement ring and the love the two shared. "Why does she always get everything?" Lindsay screamed and stormed off to find Dean without paying for the newspaper in her hand.

Rory didn't even notice Lindsay when she was in the diner. She and Lorelai were trying to figure out a way to leave the diner without going through the paparazzi.

"Oh, I got it. We go upstairs and climb out the window. We walk along the ledge until we get to the drainpipe. Then we climb up it until we get to the roof. Then we walk along the roof until we get to the end of the building. We tie something to the roof and lower ourselves down behind the building and run off toward the house keeping to the shadows," Lorelai suggested.

"But what would we tie together that would be strong enough to hold our weight as we lower ourselves to the ground?" Rory asked somewhat seriously.

Lorelai thought to herself for a minute before she yelled, "Hey Luke, do you have any linked sausages?"

Luke came over to their table and refilled their coffees. "Why would you want linked sausages? You never ate them before, you always have bacon."

"It's not for eating silly. We are going to tie them to the roof and lower ourselves down behind the building so we can avoid the stalkers out there." Lorelai said this as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Why don't you just go out the back door?"

"There's a back door? Rory, did you know that there's a door in the back? Why have you kept this door a secret from us? There have been many times that we could have used it to escape from people we didn't want to see. Hmmm, we must consider this back door idea." Lorelai turned to Rory and asked, "What do you think of this new development?"

"I think it is just crazy enough to work. They may be expecting us to try something like climbing out the window; but they most likely will not expect us to leave through a back door, especially one that we didn't even know existed until just now. Plus, isn't it in the Gilmore Girl's rule book somewhere that we don't climb up drainpipes? Down yes, but up? Tell us more about this secret door Luke," Rory exclaimed excitedly.

"Okay, that's enough coffee for you two. After those cups are empty I'm not giving you anymore. Just let me know when you want to leave and I will show you how to escape. If you're lucky, maybe you can convince Kirk to cause a distraction," Luke said as he walked back to the counter.

"Oh Kiiiirrrk. Can you come here lover boy?" Lorelai sang.

"We're not together. I have a girlfriend. Really Christopher, I have a girlfriend. There is nothing going on between me and Lorelai," Kirk said panicked.

Christopher laughed and said, "I know Kirk. I'm not worried, but we do need your help with something."

"Kirk, we need you to walk out the door, strip down and go running through the crowd of paparazzi singing as loudly as you can, 'They're coming to take me away, ha ha, They're coming to take me away, ho ho, he he, ha ha, to the funny farm, where life is beautiful all the time and I'll be happy to see those nice young men in their clean white coats and they're coming to take me away ha ha,' while we sneak out the back," said Lorelai.

"I won't sing Napoleon XIV's 'They're Coming to Take Me Away' and strip down for free. But I will do it if Lulu and I can stay at the Dragonfly this weekend. Mother still won't let Lulu stay past 9 at night."

"It's a deal Kirk. Give us 3 minutes to get our things together and to get Luke's attention. Once you get outside, we will leave."

Four minutes later, they slowly opened the door and looked around; they saw no one and Lorelai said, "Just crazy enough to work."

They stuck to the shadows and cut through yards until the approached the Hayden house. They went in their own back door to avoid the paparazzi who were gathered in the front.

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A/N: Asking questions like 'Will so and so ever appear or will this happen' really helps me to form new ideas. Thank you for suggestions and keep them coming. I am working on a few suggestions so far; but it might be an extra couple of days before the next update because I am stuck on where exactly I want to take this story so…please help!

Chapter 7's survey. Please click review and type the letter that applies to you! Thank you!

A) The image of Shira fainting brought a smile to my face.

B) Aww, poor Huntzbergers, I feel sorry for them. They aren't mean; they are just misunderstood.

C) Because of this story I have lost all faith in Gilmore Girls FanFiction.

D) (Feel free to add your own comment)


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls or any music, movies, places or people mentioned or quoted.

A/N: Wow, thank you all so much for the reviews again! It is the best feeling to know that people are enjoying this story! The image of Shira fainting makes me smile too! Sorry about the delay in getting this chapter posted. I am still not sure what I want do with the story and though I have some ideas floating around my head it has taken me longer than I intended to get on track. Hopefully the inspiration bug bites soon!

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_**Chapter Eight**_

Rory and Tristan decided that the only way they would get out of Stars Hollow would be to leave in the middle of the night. They knew that they would not avoid the most aggressive of the paparazzi who had camped outside the Hayden house, but they would at least have fewer to deal with as they ran to Tristan's car.

So at three in the morning, bags in hand, Tristan and Rory opened the back door and tried to sneak around to the front of the house where the car was parked. They had almost made it when cameras flashed. "Miss Hayden, Mr. DuGrey, where are you going? What will you do now? Will you still be working for the New York Times? Will you both continue to live in New York? What are your plans for children in the future? When will you be receiving your inheritance Mr. DuGrey? Do you know how much you will inherit? You two are one of the most powerful and richest couples in America now, how will this affect your relationships with your friends? Will you be signing a prenuptial agreement?" People fired questions at them and hindered their progress to the car. Eventually they got through the crowd and into the car without answering a single question.

Locking the doors, Tristan began to back down the driveway as the paparazzi swarmed around the car. Rory said, "I completely understand now how Britney Spears ran over a photographer's foot. They don't give you an inch of room. I mean really, back off already," she ranted. Tristan listened to Rory but was paying more attention to not running over anyone while trying to get away.

About two blocks away from the Hayden house they were finally able to drive normally as they had lost everyone who was on foot. Now they only had to deal with the five cars that were following them. Two of the cars got stuck at Stars Hollow's traffic light, but the other three made it through. Rory pointed out a shortcut at the last second and Tristan was able to lose another car. Now only two cars remained. Once they got on the highway, it took until they approached the city and the traffic became heavier before Tristan was able to lose the other two cars.

Knowing that both of their apartments would be impossible to get to without having to deal with more paparazzi, they decided to go to Finn's apartment.

A little after six on Sunday morning Tristan and Rory pulled into the parking garage under Finn's building. They both put on hooded sweatshirts and sunglasses before getting out of the car and walking into the lobby of Finn's building. Finn's building wasn't entirely without paparazzi. Usually Rory and Tristan went straight to Finn's apartment without being stopped by security, but this morning they weren't so lucky.

"Wait right there. No one is allowed to enter the elevators without showing identification that you live here. These damn paparazzi seem to be waiting for someone and keep trying to get up to one of the apartments. I keep hearing the names Hayden, Gilmore, and DuGrey." A large security guard stood between them and the elevators.

Rory whispered to the security guard. "Please, we need to get up to Finn Westfield's apartment."

"Sure you do, that's what the last ten people said and Mr. Westfield has yet to allow anyone permission to pass me. What makes you think you are any different?" He asked.

"We're his friends. He knows us and is probably expecting us," Tristan said.

"Like I haven't heard that one already this morning. Fine, I will try calling him again. Name please," the security guard asked as he picked up the phone and dialed Finn's apartment.

"Rory and Tristan," Rory whispered.

Finn cursed and answered the phone again. "Who is trying to get up to my apartment now, Greg?"

"I'm sorry to bother you Mr. Westfield, I had already dialed your number when I got the name they gave me. They said they are Rory and Tristan. They are at least a brunette and a blond this time."

"Well that is only the fourth couple to use that combination of names. Try to get the name before you call next time." Finn moved to hang up the phone when he heard his name.

"Finn wait," Rory yelled. "Tell him that we will watch 'Grease' with him and I will even put on the outfit and sing 'You're the One that I Want' with him."

"Did you hear that Mr. Westfield?" Greg asked.

"Send them up Greg. These two are the real deal."

"He says you are the real deal and you can go up." At this declaration the watching paparazzi began snapping pictures and tried to follow them onto the elevator. Greg held them back until the doors closed.

"Welcome to my humble abode at this ungodly hour. Do you have any idea how many people have tried to get up here this morning claiming to be you two? News must have gotten out that you left Stars Hollow and I can't imagine what your apartments are like if mine is this bad. What do you say I make you two some coffee and we can figure out what to do about these bloody paparazzi. Oh and I am going to hold you to that promise of playing Sandy to my Danny."

Rory went and hugged Finn saying, "Thank you Finn. You have no idea how much I need coffee right now. I'm sorry you got dragged into this craziness."

"The craziness I love, it is the phone ringing off the hook starting at five in the morning that I don't love."

"What happened to you Finn?" Rory asked as she noticed Finn's nose was swollen and he had two black eyes.

Finn cringed a little and admitted, "I had a bit of an eventful night. First Colin showed up to tell me that Logan and his parents aren't handling the announcements very well and he wanted my advice on how to deal with him."

"What did you tell him?" Tristan asked.

"I told him to tell Logan to go to hell. He is engaged to Sarah Fallon and I guess he is more upset about your engagement than the fact that your fortune got away from him. Unlike Shira. Now that she has learned of your inheritances, she wants him to try to win you back and leave Sarah. Apparently she was also bad-mouthing you throughout the announcements until she passed out. Did you see the pictures of her in the tabloids after she fainted? I got multiple copies, suitable for framing."

"We heard. My parents were standing behind them during the announcements Friday night."

Rory laughed and said, "So not going to happen. Right now, the Huntzbergers are the least of my worries; I do want to see the pictures though. That doesn't explain why your face looks like that. I can't imagine that Colin would punch you just because you wouldn't help him with the Huntzbergers."

"No, Colin didn't do this. Not long after he left, Logan showed up here and said, and I quote, 'I can't believe you introduced her to that jackass DuGrey, I've lost her for good and it is all your fault.' And then he punched me and left."

"I'm so sorry Finn. I was afraid he would confront me and Tristan; I didn't even think that he would come after you. Although I worry about dealing with Logan, I think the bigger concern right now is the paparazzi. Do either of you have any idea where we can get some bodyguards? I'm not sure I am going to be able to get to work unless I have some help and Tristan you might need some as well."

"We probably should get something set up for your parents also. They are probably going to be bothered for a while too," Tristan said.

"Let me call downstairs to Greg and see if he knows of anyone who works as a personal bodyguard." Finn picked up the phone and called Greg. "Hey Greg, Finn Westfield. Is the lobby still overrun with paparazzi? Sorry about that. You can come up after you're done today and reenact scenes from Grease with us if it'll make you feel better? No? I'll bet if we were watching The Producers you would be singing a different tune. Anyway, do you know any personal bodyguards? We would probably need four to six here in the city and two in the small town of Stars Hollow. Do you think you could call them and have them meet us here later this morning so we can see if they will work for us? Also, a drop-dead gorgeous redhead named Caitlin Kelly should be arriving in the next few minutes with food from Lily's Diner. Let her up once she shows you ID. Thanks Greg."

"Are you sure we need four to six bodyguards in the city? Doesn't that seem a bit much?" Rory asked.

"I have a feeling that you and Tristan each need two, and I think to be safe Caitlin and I should each have one for a few weeks at least. Since Gigi, Alex and Ben are usually with your parents I think that Christopher and Lorelai each need one until the newness of the announcement wears off," Finn said logically.

"You're right Finn," Rory agreed.

"What was that love? Did you just say that I was right? What a great day this is turning out to be. I get to be right, we are going to reenact Grease and I will get to figure out if my left or right side is my best side for the cameras if I go anywhere!" exclaimed Finn.

By Friday morning Rory had become used to the crowds that followed her everywhere; and she was getting to know Mark and Randy, her new bodyguards. They usually sat in the security office at the Times while she was working, constantly ready to be of use if necessary. Only accredited members of the press were allowed inside the building and the receptionists in Rory's departments made sure no one was able to contact her for any reason other than business.

Tristan brought lunch to Rory that afternoon and they ate in the lunchroom. Afterwards they went back to her office. Rory was going to leave work mid-afternoon so they could go look at two of the properties Lorelai the first had left her but she had just a couple of things to finish before they could leave. While she worked Tristan was going to catch up on some of his emails. At least that was the plan.

Walking into her office, Rory noticed the blond haired man sitting at her desk. She put her purse down on the shelf next to the door and accidentally bumped the kangaroo Finn had given her for her birthday onto the floor.

"Well, well, if it isn't R. G. Hayden in the flesh. How are you doing, Ace?" he smirked.

Glaring at him she picked up the kangaroo and put it back and replied, "What do you want Logan? How did you even get in here?"

"I am an accredited member of the press. Plus, if your last name is Huntzberger people in the newspaper business practically throw themselves at your feet and do anything you ask." Logan propped his feet up on Rory's desk and leaned back in her chair as if he owned the place.

"Wow, full of yourself much?" Rory said snidely.

"My dad and I want you to come and work for us. If you play your cards right, maybe you can even become a Huntzberger too. Think about it Ace, you and me together again. We could be unstoppable." Logan stood up and walked around the desk as he spoke.

Rory laughed and looked at him like he was crazy.

"I see that you missed me. Why else would you find someone who is exactly like me?"

"Tristan is nothing like you, Logan," Rory declared without a bit of humor in her voice now.

"Oh come on Ace. He is a rich, blond, playboy. Can you say rebound? How long after we broke up was it before you jumped into bed with him? Or did you just sleep with a bunch of blond guys until you found one that would want you? Did you sleep with Finn too and he found out how good in bed you are? Is that why he won't leave your side? You don't really want to marry DuGrey. Admit it, you still love me." Logan tried to reach out and take her hand.

Tristan stepped in front of Rory and said, "I've heard enough from you Huntzberger. Don't you ever insinuate that my fiancée is a slut. Don't ever try to touch her again. You never deserved her. You will stay away from Rory."

"Oh yeah, what are you going to do about it? I'd like to see you try and stop me. You gonna hit me? Come on, hit me. Show her what kind of man you really are." Logan egged him on, moving right in his face.

"I'm not stupid enough to play your game Huntzberger. Only a jackass like you punches someone. And if you really wanted to be with Rory you wouldn't have let her get away in the first place. Go now, just leave us alone and stay away from Finn too." Tristan took a step back from Logan and held onto Rory.

Someone had alerted security to the disturbance in Rory's office and two security guards, along with Rory and Tristan's four bodyguards came running into her office. As they were escorting Logan out, he called out to her, begging, "Ace, don't let them throw me out of here. Please, we can still be together. Please, Ace, marry me instead of him."

"Wait, I need to say some things to him before he leaves. First, I'm sure your fiancé will be thrilled to hear that you begged to marry me," Rory scoffed at him as she moved from Tristan's arms and approached him.

She then stood right in front of him and looked into his eyes. "I met Tristan when I was 16 and fell in love with him then. Logan, _you_ were a substitute for _Tristan. He_ has always been and will always be the love of my life. I kept you around because I missed him. When he asked me to marry him after dating for only six weeks I didn't have to think about it at all. There's no doubt in my mind that he's the man for me. I love Tristan, Logan, not you," Rory said with conviction.

"And one more thing before you leave, Huntzberger. _Never_ call me _Ace_ again," Rory said with malice.

Security escorted Logan out of the office and his name was added to the list of people not allowed to enter the Times building unless invited.

Once Logan left, Rory began to shake and threw herself into Tristan's arms for comfort. "I can't believe he was here. Nothing he said is true. You know I love you, right? I don't want anything to do with him," Rory cried on Tristan.

"Shh, Rory. Don't worry. I know you love me; and you made it very clear to him too, but I don't think that he is going to accept it. I'm sure that we will see him again." Tristan held Rory until she calmed down a bit.

"Do you think you can get your dad to put a restraining order on him? We have that whole conversation on hidden camera."

"Where and why do you have a hidden camera in your office?" Tristan asked confused.

Rory walked over to the kangaroo and picked it up holding it in front of Tristan. "After Colin and Logan came to his apartment the other night, Finn thought he might try something like this. He figured that Logan would try to corner me at work when you wouldn't be around to stop him. So he gave me the kangaroo camera. He told me that it was 'cute and from Australia just like him' and that even if I didn't ever have to use it would look good on my shelf. I knocked it on the floor on purpose so I could turn it on without looking too obvious. Oh, and I've never slept with Finn in case you were wondering."

Tristan nodded at her. "I know. He and I made a pact when we were teenagers, before I met you, that we would never date the same girls. He told me the day we met again that the pact was still intact and that two of you were best friends and that he always thought of you like a sister. He told me again the next afternoon after he found out you were my Mary." He kissed her forehead as he took the kangaroo from her and opened the back to remove the memory card. "I will make a copy of this and send it to my dad. He already told me that he would help us in any way he could."

Rory kissed him and said, "While you call him and give him the information, I am going to finish up one thing that I have to do and get my boss to do the rest of what I had planned for the afternoon and we can be ready to leave in about a half hour to go look at the properties. After that confrontation I deserve to leave early."

Rory and Tristan saw two penthouse apartments that afternoon. They fell in love with the penthouse on 6th Avenue. It had views of the pond in Central Park and was relatively close to Times Square so Rory wouldn't have too many problems getting to work. The apartment had been renovated in the last ten years; there were five bedrooms and six bathrooms and 7,000 square feet. Even though she didn't cook, Rory appreciated the gourmet kitchen and thought she might learn to cook just to use that kitchen. The apartment was furnished in the perfect mix of antiques and more modern furniture. What they loved almost as much as the apartment was that the paparazzi were not allowed within ten feet of the doorway allowing them to get into their cars unhindered.

"When do you want to start moving?" Tristan asked.

"I'll see if Mom and Dad are available this weekend. I want to start making it our home as soon as possible. What do you think?" Rory asked already pulling out her phone to call Lorelai.

"I think I'll call Finn and see if he wants to help." Tristan replied.

Lorelai glared at the phone as it rang yet again. She knew that she should answer it but lately no good had come from answering the phone. Knowing that it could be someone she actually knew, she answered the phone. "Lorelai Leigh Gilmore Hayden does not live here. If you wish to talk to Lorelai Victoria Gilmore Hayden about something other than Lorelai Leigh Gilmore Hayden than you have reached the correct number. Please state the intent of your call," Lorelai said in a snotty voice.

"That greeting is a little harsh mom, I think I preferred when you simply said, 'Hayden Residence.' What brought on the hostility?" Rory asked.

"Only the fact that the last twenty times the phone rang today or the two hundred times it rang in the last week, it has either been for you or someone wanting to get information about you, I have earned the right to be harsh. I have learned that if I answer that way I can avoid some of the phone calls. I tried letting the machine answer but it broke from overuse and those stupid paparazzi are still outside the house so I can't go get another one. To what do I owe the honor of your phone call?"

"Tristan and I are going to move into the penthouse on 6th that Trix left me and I was hoping you and Dad could help us move this weekend," Rory replied.

"You are giving me an opportunity to leave the crazy town that is Stars Hollow and venture to the big city where there is coffee?"

"Don't you have coffee at home? Or at least at Luke's?"

"No, I drank the rest of my coffee this morning and can't find any more anywhere else. The town has been overrun with these crazy people and they drank all of the coffee. Luke ran out today at lunch and isn't able to get more until Monday and Taylor's next shipment doesn't come until Tuesday. I can't go that long without coffee," Lorelai whined.

"We definitely have coffee here. Why don't you escape tonight and we can start packing," Rory suggested.

"We will be there as soon as we can get past all of these camera-toting, microphone shoving, tape-recording nutcases. See you soon!" Lorelai said happily.

Finn and Caitlin met them at Rory's apartment where Rory had already begun filling suitcases full of her clothes.

"You do realize love that you are rich and you can hire people to pack for you?" Finn questioned.

"Oh yeah. I have always just done everything myself that it didn't dawn on me not to do it this time. That's a good idea Finn. I'll call my Grandma and ask her who she recommends to move us."

"You make the phone calls and I will make the drinks. We wouldn't want the movers to have to deal with all those bottles of alcohol. It is the least we can do to help them lighten the load."

As the movers packed Rory's belongings, Lorelai and Christopher joined the group and everyone toasted over and over again to Rory's last night in her first apartment.

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A/N: I hope this chapter was okay. Let me know what you want to see in future chapters. I'm not sure how long this story will be, it really depends on what pops into my head. I have plans for some people's past suggestions and could really use some more! Please review and add the story to your alerts if you want to know what happens next!

Chapter 8's survey. Please click review and type the letter that applies to you! Thank you!

A) I love this story. I wonder what will happen next!

B) I hope the next chapter is better or I am giving up on this story.

C) Why would I torture myself by reading another chapter; this one was bad enough.

D) (Please add your own comments here.)


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls or any music, movies, places or people mentioned or quoted.

A/N: Thank you again for the reviews; you have no idea how much I love reading them, even if it is just a letter from the survey! I know this update has taken awhile, but I have had writer's block. I have some ideas for some major plot points, but no clue as to how to get there. So ideas are always welcome!

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_**Chapter Nine**_

While the movers packed Rory's and then Tristan's apartments and moved everything to the penthouse, Rory, Lorelai, and Caitlin went shopping. The penthouse needed a lot of new things to make it more comfortable. They went shopping on Fifth Avenue and bought everything from extra furniture to bedding to dishes to decorations. Everything would be delivered later that afternoon so the girls decided to shop for clothes. As they were walking past an exclusive bridal store, Jill M. Bridals, Rory saw a dress that looked almost like what she wanted. She ran inside and asked to try it on.

"I'm not sure we have any dresses for you here," said the sales lady with a snotty tone to her voice as she looked at Rory dressed in jeans and a sweater.

"Have you ever seen _Pretty Woman_? Did you learn nothing from it? You might want to find out who you are talking to before you judge her. Is the owner of this store here today?" Lorelai said in a condescending tone.

"She is here, but I don't think she needs to take time out of her day to talk to you. I deal with enough young brides to know when someone has overstepped their price range and social class," she responded.

"Angela, what is all the commotion out there?" the owner called from the back room.

"We just have another girl here who thinks she can wear one of your dresses," Angela responded.

"It is not for you to decide who can wear one of my dresses. I will be out in a moment, treat my customers with respect and please fill out an information card." the owner replied.

Angela turned to Rory and said, "May I get your name please?"

Rory smirked, walked over to the counter, placing her left hand on top of it and said, "My name is Lorelai Leigh Gilmore Hayden."

Angela's eyes widened as she saw Rory's ring and heard her name. She looked at Rory closely, recognition crossing her face, and turned and ran to the back room without saying anything else.

Lorelai, Rory and Caitlin started laughing. "That was fun! I love it when you say your name and people freak! I never liked it when my mom did it, but when you do, it is great!" Lorelai had tears running down her face.

They heard a hushed conversation from the back and Angela came back out dragging another woman with her.

"How did you not see the all of the cameras flashing outside and the four huge men blocking them from entering my store? I think you need to leave Angela. I will not allow you to treat my customers like they are beneath you." The woman turned to Rory and said, "I am sorry. I was in the back working on a dress or I would have been able to properly greet you and you would not have had to deal with my now former employee," she said sincerely.

"It was kind of fun to see her reaction." Rory smiled

"What can I help you with today? I am Jill by the way," she said.

"I saw this dress as we were walking by and it's close to what I want, but I am hoping you can make me one with a few changes."

"By all means, please show me which dress and I can design one however you would like."

Rory and Jill discussed the changes she wanted to make and after having her measurements taken, they returned to the penthouse.

On Wednesday morning a sheriff presented Logan with a restraining order for Rory and Tristan. He thought to himself, 'I can't believe Rory would do this to me. I'll bet it was Tristan who forced her to get it. He's just worried I am going to win her away from him. Well, he should be worried. I always get the girl. I need a new plan to get her to come back to me.'

Logan locked himself in his office for the rest of the morning. 'I'm going to turn him against her. I will expose her past and when he leaves her I will be there to comfort her. I just have to make sure that they don't realize I am the one behind this.' Logan had no problem figuring out what to do to ruin Rory.

Logan started to put his plan into action. He made some calls trying to gather the information he needed. "I'm calling in regards to Rory Gilmore. If you help me I will make it worth your while."

"Who is this and what do you want?"

"Meet me tonight at 6 just outside Hartford. There's a bar called Anthony's. I'll buy you a drink and we will talk. Give the name Mac to the hostess and you'll find me," Logan said cryptically and hung up the phone.

Later that night, Logan was sitting in a corner booth in the back of the bar wearing a baseball hat. He had reserved the surrounding tables too so that there would be no chance that someone would overhear them. He saw him walk in but he wasn't alone. 'If that is who I think it is, this might work even better,' he smirked.

The hostess brought them to the table and they sat across from him. Logan decided to get right to business. "I want to be with Rory and I need your help to expose her past to DuGrey. Once he realizes that she's not so innocent he will leave her and I can have her."

"Who are you? Why should we help you? I don't want to have anything to do with Rory anymore."

Logan narrowed his eyes, "Who I am doesn't matter to you. Since I want to be the one she turns to when DuGrey leaves, I can't be the one to expose her past to him. That would make me the bad guy. If you do it than we both win. I'll get her and she will never go anywhere near you again."

"What exactly is your plan and what is in it for us?"

Logan handed them a folder and said, "I have written an account of your past relationship and unless you want to add to it, copies are ready to be delivered to Rory and to DuGrey. I was thinking the one to DuGrey could be sent anonymously and the copy to Rory could be sent saying that you will go to the tabloids with the story unless she compensates you. I will also compensate you. I'll leave you two alone for a few minutes to talk about this." Logan went to the bar to get a drink.

"I like his plan Dean. We can get rid of Rory for good, ruin her and get money in the process," said Lindsay.

"If we do this and it actually gets to the tabloids it will expose us too. Are you sure you want everyone to know why we got divorced? I wouldn't mind getting Rory back for all of the times she ruined my life and for ruining our marriage. It would feel good to ruin her relationship. We could take the money and rebuild our life together outside of Stars Hollow. I'm in if you really want to do this," Dean said and Lindsay nodded. They picked up the folder and read what Logan had written.

Smirking at Dean and Lindsay, Logan sat down again and said, "I take it you are in?"

"We're in." Dean shook Logan's hand and then left the bar.

Friday morning both Tristan and Rory had two envelopes delivered to them at work. Tristan opened the first letter and narrowed his eyes.

'To Tristan DuGrey, I hate to be the one to tell you this but I think you need to know the truth about your fiancée. Marriage doesn't mean much to her.' Attached to the unsigned letter was a copy of the story about Rory and Dean.

Disgusted by the first letter, Tristan opened the next one. Inside were Rory's mug shots and the police report from when she had been arrested after stealing the yacht. Attached was a note reading, 'She's not as innocent as she seems.' Tristan was fuming.

Rory opened the first letter and began to read. 'Rory, You ruined our life and you ruined our marriage. Now we are going to ruin you. If you don't have one hundred thousand dollars, cash, delivered to us by the end of the weekend we will send this story to the tabloids. They will pay top dollar for this kind of information on you. Dean and Lindsay.' Rory began to panic.

She opened the second letter a bit hesitantly. 'Dear Rory, I want to apologize for my behavior last week. I never meant to hurt you or to insult you. I am also sorry that tried to pick a fight with Tristan. I was jealous that he won your heart. He is a really good guy and he obviously loves you very much. I could see how much he trusts and cares for you. I want you to know that I will always be there for you if you need a friend. I love you Ace. Love always, Logan.'

Now Rory was a bit suspicious. Logan never apologized for anything. Rory picked up her phone and called Tristan. "Hey, can we meet at home for lunch? I have something I need to talk to you about."

"Yeah, I have something I need to talk to you about too. I'll see you in an hour." Tristan was still really upset.

An hour later Rory walked into the apartment with bags of take-out food and saw Tristan sitting at the table staring at the placemat.

"Hi. Are you okay?" Rory asked.

"No, I'm worried," Tristan admitted.

"That's how I am feeling too. But what are you worried about?"

"I got these in the mail today and I think someone is trying to ruin you." Tristan put the letters on the table for Rory to see.

"I don't _think_ someone is trying to ruin me, I _know_ someone is." Rory pulled out her letters and gave them to Tristan. "Dean and Lindsay sent the article."

They both read through the letters the other had received. Rory said, "It's not like any of this is a big surprise to you. Not even my mug shots. Mom has those framed and I know she has showed them to you. You aren't upset about my past are you?"

Tristan looked at her and said, "No, but something just doesn't feel right about this."

Rory laughed and said, "You mean other than the fact that someone is trying to extort money from us and make you believe I am keeping secrets from you?"

Tristan rolled his eyes, "It just seems a little weird that all of these letters came at the same time. What do you think we should do?"

Rory sighed, "I knew that my past wouldn't stay hidden forever. I think it is in our best interest to have Caitlin print the second half of our interview with her. At least the truth can be controlled and the tabloids will gain nothing by printing this version and neither will Dean and Lindsay."

"What do you want to do about Dean and Lindsay?" Tristan knew what he wanted to do, but it was ultimately up to Rory.

"I don't think they did this. I mean, sure they sent the letter, but I don't think it was their idea. Lindsay may not like me, but I never saw her as that manipulative. And Dean, well I'm not sure he's smart enough to have come up with a plan like this. This article is also too well written to come from either of them. I think we need to confront them, maybe with your dad's help, and give them the option to leave us alone. If they choose not to, then we have them charged with extortion. We should also find out who put them up to this."

Tristan nodded and said, "I would rather go straight to the charges for extortion, but I guess we can try your way first. No matter what I think we need to get restraining orders on them too. Let's go see my dad tonight and then head to Stars Hollow tomorrow morning."

"That sounds good; let me just call Caitlin first and talk to her about her article." Rory picked up her cell and dialed Caitlin's number.

"Hey Caitlin. I'm going to need to you print the second half of that interview as soon as possible."

"Okay, but can I ask why the rush?"

"Dean and his ex-wife are threatening to go to the tabloids with the details of my past and I think it is best if it comes out in a reliable source. I don't want anyone else to be able to use my past against me. Do you think you can get it run in tomorrow's issue?"

"We are just going over the layout right now. We might be able to fit it in if we pull something."

"Pull my piece on the museum renovation. It can go in on Monday. It was a filler piece anyway so it can wait. Also, do you and Finn want to join us in Stars Hallow tomorrow? We want to go over some wedding details and mom and Sookie have some things to show us."

"We don't have anything going on so we can meet you there. Do you want to meet at Luke's for lunch around 1?"

"That sounds like a plan. Thank you so much Caitlin. Oh, one more thing before you hang up; I need you to tell Finn that I know it was him who took the coffee from the penthouse last night and that he will pay for that." Rory ended the call and turned to Tristan and said, "There, that's all taken care of. We're going to meet Finn and Caitlin for lunch at Luke's tomorrow at 1. That will give us enough time to confront Dean and Lindsay in the morning."

Rory and Tristan got to his parents' house in time for dinner that night. Afterwards they all gathered in Michael's office to discuss what needed to be done about Dean and Lindsay.

"Rory, are you sure you don't want to just have them charged with extortion right away? I just don't want to see you get hurt," Natalie said in a caring, motherly way.

"Like I told Tristan earlier, I don't think it was their idea and I would rather give them the opportunity to drop this scam. I think once they see Caitlin's article in the Times they will realize they can't get to us and will leave us alone. If not, then we will press charges," Rory replied.

"I will make sure the papers are ready to be filed, along with the restraining orders. Do you want me to come with you tomorrow when you confront them?" Michael asked as he began opening files on his computer that he needed to prepare.

"That would probably be a good idea Dad. At the very least it will intimidate them a bit. Besides, we would like you and mom to join us at the Dragonfly tomorrow. Sookie is going to be making the cake for the wedding and she wants us all to help decide which one she should make. She said she will also make us dinner if we help," said Tristan.

"We will be there. I have been meaning to go to Kim's Antiques ever since you told me about it Rory. I will do that while you have your meeting. Then we can all get together after lunch. I think I am going to go to bed now. You both can stay in Tristan's old room tonight. Behave kids." Natalie teased as she left the office.

The next morning, Rory, Tristan, Michael and four bodyguards went to Dean's apartment. Rory brought a copy of the New York Times with Caitlin's article. Dean opened the door and was surprised at who he saw.

"Rory. I didn't think you would show up here," Dean said honestly as Lindsay had joined him at the door.

"Can we do this inside Dean? I wouldn't want your neighbors to hear." Rory tried to look nervous, as if she was going to play their game.

Dean opened the door and Rory, Tristan and Michael walked into the apartment leaving the bodyguards outside the door. "I thought I would give you a chance to drop this silly blackmailing idea you have."

"Right and why would we do that? You have so much money that a hundred thousand won't even matter to you. It is a ton of money to us. All you have to do is give it to us and we won't turn the articles over to the tabloids and ruin you," Lindsay said vindictively.

Dean had been staring at Tristan since they walked in, trying to figure out who he was and finally said, "I recognize you. You're that jackass from Chilton. I thought you hated him. He still looks like an accountant. Is that why you brought him? To count out the money you are going to give us?" Lindsay laughed at what Dean had said.

"This is my fiancé, Tristan DuGrey and his father Michael. I think you need to see something Dean, Lindsay." Rory handed over the newspaper and waited while they read Caitlin's article. As they read their eyes grew wide and then their faces grew pale with the realization that they had nothing to hold over Rory.

"As you can see by that article, you have nothing to sell to the tabloids now. I am ashamed of my past mistakes, but I am not going to hide them. They made me who I am today and there isn't anything in my life today that I would change." Tristan came and put his arm around Rory as she continued, "Now, I have a deal for both of you."

Dean and Lindsay exchanged terrified looks.

Rory smiled at their reactions and said with authority, "I have two options for you. Choose wisely. The first option is to leave me, Tristan, our family and friends alone forever. There will be restraining orders filed against both of you and it would probably be in your best interest to leave Stars Hollow. The second option is for us to file extortion charges against you both where you will face criminal charges. While I was lucky to receive community service for my past mistake, you will not be so lucky. Along with the extortion charges, the same restraining orders will be filed and once you finish serving time in prison it would be in your best interest not to return to Stars Hollow. In whichever option you choose, leaving Stars Hollow is not a requirement; however, like I said, it would be in your best interest. I will give you a moment to decide. If you have any legal questions, please ask Michael as he is representing me."

Dean and Lindsay both responded, "We will take option one." Dean continued by saying, "I knew his idea sounded too good to be true."

Rory smiled knowingly and responded, "Very good choice. The only reason you got that choice at all is because I had a feeling that this wasn't all your idea. Who thought of it?"

"We don't know his name or what he looked like exactly. He was very secretive. He would only say that he wanted to be the one who was there for you when DuGrey dumped you over this article."

Tristan narrowed his eyes and asked, "He never mentioned his name?"

Lindsay shook her head and replied, "No, the reservation was under the name Mac and he was very cryptic about everything. He paid us ten thousand dollars to send you the letters."

"Thank you for your help. By the way, this whole meeting was recorded for our protection. Michael has some papers for you to sign. I hope to never see either of you again," Rory took Tristan's hand and left Dean's apartment and his life for good.

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A/N: Chapter 9 survey: Please click review and type the letter(s) that best suits you!

A) Writer's Block? It doesn't seem that way to me! I am loving this story!

B) I want more fluff and less drama in the next chapter. Maybe some Finn too!

C) Thanks for trying. Too bad this chapter wasn't good.

D) (Other comments greatly appreciated!)

Please please please review. I don't care if it is signed or anonymous. If you took the time to read this chapter, please take 30 more seconds to type a letter or a comment. Until I started writing I didn't realize how much writers thrive on these reviews. More reviews equal faster chapters because we realize how much people actually want to read what we write! Thank you so much! (Sorry to sound so needy but I could use some positive reinforcement in my life this week, it has been kind of crappy!)


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls or any music, movies, places or people mentioned or quoted.

A/N: I want to say thank you thank you thank you all for the wonderful reviews they helped cheer up my crappy week. I even love it when there is just a letter or one word in the review! I would also like to thank reviewer AJ for giving me that extra kick in the butt that I needed to post the next chapter today. I want to let RoryGLoganHFan30 know that I really love Logan too, but for this story he is around to cause problems. Even though he is manipulative in my story, I think he still does love Rory. And I totally agree that Lorelai is to blame for Rory's answer to his proposal.

This chapter is a bit of a filler but we get to see more Finn and there are a few important things that will be set up for future chapters. Don't worry happyseaturtle, JJsMommy27, Curley-Q, KariandTK, and Lena Kim (among others) what you want will happen soon!

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_**Chapter 10**_

"Rory, Tristan, I'm so glad I found you. Francine called and needed your dad's help with something and then Sookie called and she needs me to come to the Dragonfly. She is having some crisis about tonight's dinner and Michel won't leave her alone, something about low-fat cheese and I need you to watch the kids until I can get back. I would take them with me, but there is a meeting going on in the dining room for some apple cider convention thing and I don't want them to interrupt it. I know you are having lunch with Caitlin and Finn, but there just isn't anyone available to watch them right now. I'm sure it won't be as easy to avoid the crazy camera people if you have to drag three kids with you, but I am desperate" Lorelai said as she dragged the twins behind her and Gigi followed.

"Mom, don't worry of course we will watch them. We have the bodyguards and they will do their best to shield the kids from the cameras. Plus Finn and Caitlin love them so they won't care. We're just going to Luke's." Rory took the two boy's hands and Tristan put his hand on Gigi's shoulder as they turned to cross the street. Cameras flashed at the family-like picture. "I will bet they are going to publish those with stories about how our future family will look just like this," Rory said quietly as she and Tristan led the kids to Luke's for lunch.

"There she is, my favorite fair-headed Hayden, the always lovely Georgia; how do you do doll?" Finn winked at Gigi as he kissed her hand. She giggled then gave him a huge hug. "And how is the terrible twosome today?"

"Finn, I'm three, not two." Alex pouted. "Yeah, me too, I'm three." Ben gave an identical pout after looking at his brother's face.

"I know you're three, I meant twosome as in the two of you, not your age. I meant both of you; I meant, oh never mind. Hey guess what, we got you presents." Finn tried to explain himself but failed miserably and went for the easy way out.

Caitlin pulled out three bags and handed them to the three kids. Gigi opened hers and found a princess Barbie doll and immediately took it out of its box and started playing with it. The boys each pulled out a monster truck from their bags.

"I wanted the blue one," said Ben. "I wanted the red one," said Alex.

"I can fix this problem. Boys, give me the trucks." Rory held out her hands for the trucks. They handed them to her and then she put the opposite truck in front of each boy. They both smiled and began running the trucks over the tables, chairs and Finn's head.

"Why didn't you just ask them to switch?" Caitlin asked.

"That would seem like the easy thing to do, but then we would have had to listen to the 'he took my truck' argument. It happens every time they want what the other has. Tristan actually figured out this method and it is the only one that works." Rory looked at Finn and laughed as tried to untangle his hair from Alex's truck.

"Finn, your hair took my truck. Give it back. Let me pull it out." Alex reached for the truck.

"No! Don't pull it out, I will get it. Love can you please try to untangle it?" Finn begged Caitlin.

"I know how to get it out. You should put peanut butter on it. That's what Mommy did when Gigi got gum in her hair. Luke, Finn needs peanut butter," Ben yelled to Luke.

"I don't want peanut butter on my truck. We need to cut his hair. Luke, Finn needs scissors," Alex yelled to Luke.

"What is going on out here?" Luke asked as he came out of the kitchen with some food for the boys and coffee for the adults.

"Finn's hair took my truck and I need to get it back." Alex was getting frustrated and had started to pull on the truck.

"Ouch, some help here please? No scissors." Finn was looking close to tears as Caitlin began trying to untangle the truck.

"Boys why don't you eat your food and maybe by the time you are done the truck will be out of Finn's hair," Rory suggested.

"What can I get the rest of you to eat?" Luke took their orders and went back into the kitchen.

Caitlin finally got the truck out of Finn's hair and he rubbed his head. "Thank you. Now that my hair is free of trucks, I need all of your help in a most important matter." Finn pulled out four different tabloids and opened them to pictures of himself.

"Looking at all of these pictures, what do you think is my best side? I just can't decide," Finn said seriously.

Tristan looked at the pictures and said, "I think it is your right side."

"See, I was leaning toward my left. What makes you say my right side?"

"I would have to say that your eyes seem to twinkle more when they capture your right side," Tristan replied.

"Hmm, I see what you are saying, but doesn't my jawline look stronger from my left?" Finn questioned.

"I guess, but I really think your eyes are your best feature and you should showcase them more," Tristan said.

Neither noticed that Caitlin and Rory were barely containing their laughter.

"So Caitlin, think we should invite these two girls along for pedicures the next time we go?" Rory asked teasingly.

"Rory, they're boys, not girls," Ben commented.

"Right now I'm not so sure about that," Rory said as she laughed.

"Did I not prove to you this morning in bed just how much of a man I am? I know I had you screaming my name," Tristan said seductively.

"Tristan!" Rory exclaimed.

"That's not exactly how you said it; it was more screaming my name in ecstasy." Tristan smirked and wiggled his eyebrows at her.

"What does screaming a name in ecstasy mean?" Gigi asked curiously as Tristan's eyes grew wide and he looked at Rory with a panicked face.

"Tristan Michael DuGrey, you said it, you explain it," Rory said as she returned his earlier smirk.

Everyone watched as Tristan got flustered and started to stutter. "Um, well you see, it's uh, it's when one adult yells another adult's name really loud to let them know something."

"Oh, okay," Gigi said shrugging her shoulders and picking up her Barbie doll again. Tristan relaxed as she didn't ask more questions.

After lunch everyone started to walk back to the Hayden house when Miss Patty stepped outside of her dance studio. "There is my favorite exotic young man. Finn, let me take a look at you today," she called out to him.

"That is the one redhead that frightens me. Please help me!" Finn turned to Miss Patty and said, "Sorry I can't stop today; we have a lot to do for the wedding, you know planning and such."

"Nonsense, I am sure Rory and Tristan, who also looks good enough to eat today, can spare you for a few minutes."

"Sure Miss Patty. Why don't you show Finn your famous Founder's Day punch? I'm sure Finn would love to try it," Rory said with a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

"Why are you throwing me to the sharks?" Finn whispered looking scared.

"Didn't Caitlin pass along my message? You don't take the coffee from our penthouse without paying for it. We will rescue you after we drop off the kids. Have fun!" Rory teased. Caitlin decided to stay with Finn so that he wouldn't be totally alone with Miss Patty.

When Rory and Tristan got back to the Hayden house, they met Lorelai as she was getting out of her Jeep.

"It looks like your dad is home. Let's go get him so he can take you to your sleepover at Amy's house, Gigi, before we drop off the boys with Zach, Brian and Gil so we can do wedding planning." Lorelai took Ben from Rory while Tristan carried Alex into the house. Both boys had gotten tired on the walk home and wanted to be carried.

"Chris, are you home yet?" Lorelai yelled as they walked into the house.

"Are you screaming Daddy's name in ecstasy?" Gigi asked Lorelai.

"What? Where did you hear that?" Lorelai asked dumbfounded as she almost dropped Ben.

Tristan put Alex down quickly and said, "Uh, we're going to leave now. We have to find my parents and also rescue Finn from Miss Patty. See you later." Tristan dragged a laughing Rory out the door and to his car.

Rory and Tristan met his parents at Kim's Antiques where Natalie had found some pieces of furniture that would work well in her living room. They were arranging delivery when Lane arrived.

"Did you know that Miss Patty and Finn are drinking, dancing and singing songs from 'Guys and Dolls'? I saw Caitlin just sitting there watching them and laughing. She didn't even try to save Finn when Miss Patty tried to pinch him. I saw you come in here and I thought I would let you know that you might want to rescue him before he drinks much more of that punch," Lane said as she remembered the horrors that come from Miss Patty's punch.

"Thanks Lane. I guess we should get him away from there. We need him to help us test the cakes and I don't think he knows how toxic that punch can be. Are you still meeting us at the inn in an hour?" Rory asked Lane.

"I will be there. Zach, Brian and Gil are going to watch Alex, Ben, Steve and Kwan in exchange for some of Sookie's cake. Sookie made a cake just for the guys that I have to pick up from Jackson and then I will meet you," said Lane.

"We will see you all soon. We're going to drive to the inn so we can leave when we are done with dinner. I have a dress fitting tomorrow so we are going back to the city tonight. Michael, Natalie, do you remember how to get to the inn?" Rory asked.

"We can get there; we will see you in an hour." Natalie went back to talking to Mrs. Kim.

An hour later everyone met at the Dragonfly and Finn sat at the table and moaned a bit. "What is in that punch? She wouldn't tell me. It was so sweet, yet so strong."

Lorelai handed Finn a disgusting looking thick drink and said, "Drink all of this and don't ask what is in it. It is the special cure to Miss Patty's punch. Hurry up, we have a lot of cake to try and you need to neutralize that punch so it doesn't mix with the cake frosting. Not a pretty sight if you don't; I know this from past experience." She made a disgusted face and shuddered a bit.

Finn did as he was told and then proceeded to help everyone try about fifteen different types of cakes. When almost everyone was sick of cake, Sookie served a wonderful dinner which everyone enjoyed. After dinner Rory and Lorelai tried three cakes again in order to make the final decision. "Tristan, try this one again. I think this one might be the one." Rory tried to feed Tristan another bite of cake.

"There is no way that I can eat anymore cake. Whatever cake you want, just tell Sookie. Please don't make me eat more." Tristan looked a little sick at the thought of more cake.

"Okay, but don't complain if you don't like the cake at the wedding. I will remind you that you couldn't be a man and eat more cake on our cake testing day if you complain," Rory teased as she picked up another piece of cake to try again.

"How can you eat more cake?" Tristan asked.

"How can you not? It is cake and we have lots of good coffee to go with it. There is the perfect bitterness to the coffee to match the sweetness of the cake and I'm going to eat cake until we find the perfect one." Tristan just shook his head and drank his coffee while watching Rory and Lorelai debate over the cakes.

After dinner and the effects of the punch completely wore off, Finn approached Rory and asked to talk to her in the front room while Caitlin and Lane were doing some bachelorette party planning.

"I need your help with something big; but I need you to keep it a secret from Caitlin," Finn said a bit nervously as he sat on a couch.

"Are you going to propose? It's about time Finn!" Rory was bouncing with excitement.

"Not exactly. It's a little more than that." Finn sighed and leaned back to look through the doorway to make sure Caitlin was still busy. "Since we are all going to Las Vegas the weekend before Thanksgiving for the bachelor and bachelorette parties I was hoping that we could make it a double celebration. Caitlin doesn't have much family, just her parents and she doesn't want a big wedding. I was hoping to surprise her by getting married in Vegas. I am going to fly her parents out there but I don't want her to know about any of it."

"Oh Finn, that is a great idea. We can have our parties the first night and you can get married the next. Then she can really celebrate her last night of sanity, I mean single life!" Rory teased.

Finn rolled his eyes and said, "Thanks love. I'm going to need your help though. I can't get everything I need without her suspecting something."

Rory's started to make a mental list of everything she would need to do. "You take care of the rings, her parents and any reservations you need to make in Vegas. I will take care of everything else, including getting her time off from work. Are you going to leave from there for your honeymoon? Where are you taking her?"

"Yeah we will. I was thinking of taking her to Australia to see my family since they won't be there for the wedding. We will probably be gone until two weeks before your wedding."

"Okay, I will make sure to pack for her for that too. This will be so much fun! Don't worry about anything. We should get back in there before she starts to get suspicious." Rory hugged Finn and led him back into the dining room.

The next morning Rory went to her fitting at Jill M. Bridals. "I love this dress! It is exactly how I pictured it. I can't believe you have it done this quickly," Rory exclaimed as she tried on her dress.

"I'm glad you like it. I have to say, your ideas were perfect and I was so excited to make them a reality that I have worked on it more than anything else." Jill put a few more pins in place to get the perfect fit. "I will have this ready for your final fitting the week before your wedding. The bridesmaids' dresses will also be ready for the final fitting then."

"Speaking of bridesmaids, I need your help for one of them. Caitlin's boyfriend is going to surprise her with a wedding in a little less than a month. He asked me to help and I am wondering if you can make her a dress," Rory asked hopefully.

"I do have her measurements and as long as it isn't too crazy of a dress I can definitely make it. What do you have in mind?" Jill asked as she pulled out some design books.

As they looked at designs, Rory said, "I'm hoping you and your husband can come to our wedding. After all the work you have put into these dresses I would hate it if you couldn't be there to see them."

"Of course we will come. Thank you so much for asking us. We will be dropping the dresses off in the morning anyway and I will be there to make sure nothing needs to be adjusted at the last minute. Oh I can't wait to tell my husband! We've never been invited to someone famous' wedding before, sure I have designed for a couple, but no one is as nice as you are." Jill could hardly wait until she got home to share the news with her husband.

After planning Caitlin's wedding dress, Rory decided to try to find clothes for Caitlin's honeymoon. Since it would be more summer-like temperatures in northern Australia where Finn's family lived, Rory decided to go to some of the department stores on 5th Avenue which would still carry summer fashions even though they were out of season for New York.

As she was looking through some clothing racks she overheard a woman talking on her cell phone.

"I finally got away from that foolish girl my son so stupidly proposed to. She is so annoying and dumb, asking the same questions over and over again. And her family connections are just horrible. I have been trying to convince him to dump her and get back together with his ex-girlfriend. Now there is a girl who has money. I had originally thought she was a gold-digger, but she just came into so much money we would all be set for life. I still don't like her but I could pretend for the money. If only the little witch wasn't engaged to another man; it's only a matter of time before my son can get her to come back to him. He's trying but it isn't going too well. He says he has a plan but part of it fell through yesterday."

Rory couldn't see who was talking, but she had a good feeling about who it was. Just as she was about to try to find the woman, she bumped into a pretty blonde woman about Rory's age and said, "Oh, I am so sorry. I was a bit distracted by someone over there's phone conversation. I know it isn't nice to eavesdrop, but something about it drew me in."

"That's okay, I was listening too. Hi, I'm Sarah, the foolish girl her son stupidly proposed to. You're Rory, right?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah, I have a feeling you know that not because of newspapers or tabloids, right?" Rory now was absolutely sure she was talking to Logan's fiancée and that it was Shira around the corner.

"You would be correct. I was at your birthday party with Logan and his parents."

"I would have thought Shira would be ecstatic over your engagement to Logan. When I dated him she made it quite clear that you were a much better choice than I was," Rory admitted.

"She was until he actually proposed. Mitchum wants it and my parents agreed; so as long as my parents keep thinking Logan is the perfect gentleman they won't let me break off the engagement. I don't like to disappoint them so I tend to do what they want me to do. Sure the Huntzberger money and name are great but I would rather marry the man I love."

"You don't love Logan?" Rory asked.

"No. I love his friend Colin. Logan never really pays much attention to me. He thinks of our engagement as more of a business deal and he gets a trophy wife out of it. Colin has always been there for me. He loves me too, but as long as I'm with Logan we won't do anything about it. He has been trying to help me find a way out of the relationship but we can't figure anything out yet. I keep playing the part of the blonde bimbo hoping that the Huntzbergers will get sick of me and let us break this off but Logan just chooses to ignore me instead of breaking up with me. I'm really not stupid like they have all implied. I graduated magna cum laude with a degree in sociology and a minor in theater from Princeton. I don't work right now because women who work are against the Huntzberger ideals. I guess I am destined for the life a trophy wife." Sarah shrugged and sighed looking defeated.

"What would you say to me helping you get out of your engagement if you can help me figure out Logan's plan to get me to come back to him?" Rory asked with a smirk.

"I say I am in; I will do anything to get out that engagement. But why would you help me?" Sarah wondered as she handed Rory a business card with her information on it.

"Colin was one of my good friends until Logan and I ended our relationship and I want to help him. Plus upsetting the Huntzbergers is a perk. I will call you tomorrow so we can talk some more. But now, how about if we make Shira aware of our presence, maybe mess with her a bit?" Rory asked with a twinkle in her eye. Sarah responded with a nod and a huge smile.

"Shira, Shira, look who I just met! It's that girl whose birthday party we went to a couple weeks ago. I think her name is Lori or is it Tori? You know, she's that girl you called a gold-digger and who wasn't good enough for your family, right? And then we found out she had like tons of money and then you like fainted. Wow, it's too bad that she and Logan broke up. Well not really because now I get to marry Logie-bear." Sarah said as she smiled and batted her eyelashes. Rory could barely keep a straight face at the dramatic change in demeanor and intelligence Sarah was displaying.

After glaring at Sarah, Shira looked toward Rory and pasted a fake smile on her face and said, "Rory! How good to see you dear. Ignore Sarah; she confuses her imagination with reality. How have you been? I have missed you so much since Logan left you. I have told him every day just how wonderful you are and that he never should have let you get away from him. I know he misses you and that he loves you so much. I'm sure that DuGrey boy tricked you into agreeing to marry him. It's okay dear, you can break off your engagement with him and I know Logan would be happy to take his place."

"Shira, it's so good to see you too. Don't worry about what Sarah said. I will just _pretend_ I didn't hear it. I'm such a _little witch_ for not keeping in contact with you. How is Logan since he was forcibly removed from my office last week and issued a restraining order against me and my wonderful fiancé? I would hate it if his _plans_ caused a rift in his own engagement. Especially since you have wanted Sarah to become a member of your family since the first time I met you." Rory gave Shira an innocent look as she made sure to emphasize the key words from Shira's phone conversation.

Shira pursed her lips and raised an eyebrow and replied, "Yes. Things change; and well, as you can see, Sarah is unfortunately still here. Anyway, we should get going. It was lovely seeing you again. I will make sure to let Logan know I saw you today. He will be so disappointed that he decided not to go shopping with us. Goodbye Rory."

"Sarah, it was nice meeting you. And Shira before you leave I must tell you how beautiful your blonde hair looks today," Rory said sweetly.

"Why thank you dear. Hopefully we will see you soon," Shira said smiling and patting her hair.

"You're welcome. But it really is a shame that you ruined it by dying your roots black. Have a nice day!" Rory winked and walked away to return to her shopping.

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A/N: This chapter used a suggestion from Rose5mar and if you have ideas for things you want to see, please let me know and I will try to work them into the story! Please take a few seconds to review. Instead of a survey, I am going to try for a fill in the blank. Think of a word or words that best complete the following sentence and click review and let me know!

**While reading this chapter, I _. **

(I would like feedback, no matter how silly! Examples : laughed, smiled, frowned, decided I don't want to read the next one, wished the next chapter was posted already, cried, ate a bowl of ice cream, wished I had cake, figured out which really is Finn's best side, loved the idea of Finn's surprise wedding, liked that Sarah is actually smart and loves Colin)


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: I am so sorry for the delay in getting this chapter to you. There has been a lot going on in my life and this story definitely has taken a backseat. This chapter is going to be much shorter than the others because I am totally stuck on it right now; but I thought I would share with you what I have so far and maybe someone can give me some inspiration!

Thank you for all of the reviews on the last chapter and the story so far. I especially want to thank Angel_N_Darkness for reviewing each chapter in one day!

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_**Chapter 11**_

Rory returned to the penthouse that afternoon and found Tristan in the office with Finn trying to figure out who had met with Dean and Lindsay. Tristan was sitting in front of the computer and Finn was on the other side of the desk, reclining in the chair, with his feet on the desk and his hands behind his head.

"Hi guys, have you made any progress trying to figure out who Mac is?" Rory asked as she gave Tristan a kiss.

"We have a list of all of the employees at the Times, former classmates of yours from Yale and the Chilton and Stars Hollow yearbooks and have found three people with the initials M.A.C. that have a connection to you and might know about Dean."

"Do you think any of them are right?"

"Well, from the Times there is a Marshall A. Crumble and he works as a part-time reporter for the Travel department. He may have gotten Caitlin's files and read the full interview and decided to try to get you to quit so he could get a full-time job. We thought that seemed really unlikely, but we did call IT and they were able to check Caitlin's computer and no one has accessed her files except for her that they could find," said Tristan. Rory crinkled her nose as she thought about Marshall.

Seeing the expression on Rory's face, Tristan continued saying, "The next one was Matthew Aiden Cartwright from Chilton. He and I didn't get along well and I know he liked you. He was rather vocal about it actually. We thought he could have potential if he wanted to get you away from me. He definitely would have the money to pay off Dean and Lindsay; and he would have been around during your early relationships with Dean, but most likely wouldn't have known about anything that happened after Chilton since he went to Stanford. He lives in Dallas now and I called his office. Apparently he has been in China for the last two months. I think we can eliminate him from our list," Tristan explained.

"I don't think either one of them contacted Dean and Lindsay. Was there anyone else?" Rory was beginning to get worried that they would never solve this problem.

"Ah, we saved the best for last love. This one could be the most promising. He has every connection possible and could be our man!" Finn was now leaning forward in the chair with excitement. Rory looked to Tristan for an explanation. She asked, "Well, who is it?"

"Martin Andrew Conner," Tristan said looking at Rory for a sign of recognition.

Rory thought for a few seconds before exclaiming, "Marty?"

"We think he is the most likely. Finn has told me a bit of what he knows of your history with Marty and I think it might be him."

"Wow. You know, it really could be him. He was smart enough to have written the article and he knew all about what happened with Dean, since I told him. He once told me he liked me and he was extremely jealous of Logan; so he could be just as jealous of you, Tristan. He still could be upset about how his relationship with Lucy ended. He didn't tell her that we had been friends and he pretended not to know me when she introduced us. Maybe he is trying to ruin this relationship because he feels I am to blame for that one ending. He also wasn't fond of people with money and always was working multiple jobs." Rory was shocked to think that Marty would do this to her.

"He was a great bartender though. We never could find anyone who made drinks as well as he did. If he didn't do this I wonder if his services are still for hire. I wish he was here right now. I could really use a good drink," whined Finn.

Rory shook her head and said to him, "Finn, I will make you a drink while you and Tristan try to track down Marty." She walked over to the bar in the office and mixed drinks for Finn and Tristan. "Oh, I almost forgot. I made a new friend today. Sarah Fallon."

"Why would you talk to that airhead? As much as I dislike Logan lately, I still can't believe he would torture himself by marrying her. I have only met her a few times but I think I got stupider just by standing near her," Finn made a disgusted face.

Smiling Rory said, "Actually, she is incredibly smart and a great actress. She graduated with honors from Princeton with a degree in sociology and she minored in theater. We had a bit of a bonding session after we both overheard Shira talking about us on her cellphone at a store. Sarah is trying to get out of her engagement by acting like she is stupid. She actually is in love with Colin, and he is in love with her. Her engagement to Logan is pretty much arranged between Mitchum and her parents."

"She is a bloody good actress than. I was convinced the light was on but nobody was home. Hmmm, I have been thinking of expanding my repertoire to include _Sweeny Todd_; I wonder if she sings too." Finn looked excited at the idea of someone with actual acting talents possibly joining the group of friends.

Rory shook her head and ignored Finn's comment. She continued her story by saying, "We overheard Shira mentioning that Logan's plan to get back together with me fell through. I still wonder if he has anything to do with the whole Dean and Lindsay thing, especially after I got that letter from him. Sarah said she would help me try to find out what his plan is and I am going to try to help figure out a way for her to get out of her engagement. I really want to see Colin happy and if she will make him happy, I am going to do what I can. I have some proof already, but I have to figure out a way for her to use it to her advantage. You guys try to track down Marty. I think I need a movie night. I am going to get everything ready, order some food and try to figure out any other Macs that have been in my life." Rory kissed Tristan and wandered into the kitchen.

Less than an hour later Rory was setting up the food and drinks for the movie night.

"Well, it's not Marty," Finn said as he entered the room, sat on the couch and sighed.

"How do you know so quickly?" Rory inquired.

"We discovered he joined the Air Force after he graduated. I made a call to one of my former military school teachers who now works for the Secretary of Defense. He was able to pull Marty's file and he told me that Marty has been deployed for the last six months and doesn't have leave for another month. That is all he was able to tell me but I think it is enough to take his name off the list," Tristan said defeated as he hugged Rory.

"Oh. That brings us back to where we were this morning, with no leads. Let's just have a movie night and we can try to figure it out later. Tonight's theme is Australian actors for Finn since he has been bugging me to play some movies for him. You guys can pick the movies," Rory said as she sat down on the couch. Tristan went to the shelves to look through the huge collection of DVDs.

"How about Nicole Kidman in _The Hours, _Hugh Jackman in_ X-Men_, and Russell Crowe in _A Beautiful Mind_?" Tristan asked as he pulled the movies off the shelves.

Rory's eyes grew wide, she gasped and exclaimed, "Master and Commander."

Tristan raised his eyebrows and gave her a questioning look and said, "You don't like that movie; that's why I didn't suggest it."

"Master and Commander," she repeated quietly with a dazed look on her face.

"Okay, if you really want to watch it we can. But when we watched it with your mom you said, and I quote, 'Don't ever make me watch that movie again. I'm seasick.' Though I am not sure it was the movie as much as it was the fact that you ate three big bags of Swedish Fish which you said matched the nautical theme and then that fuzzy mint from your mom's purse because we ran out of candy." Tristan crinkled his nose at the memory.

"No. Logan." Rory had a faraway look on her face as she thought.

"I'm Tristan," Tristan said confused and a bit frustrated.

Rory shook her head clearing it and her eyes came back into focus. "No Tristan. What I meant to say was the first time I really talked to Logan, argued actually, he told me to call him Master and Commander. I think Logan is MaC."

Both Tristan and Finn's eyes narrowed. Tristan said, "The only extra information my dad could get out of Dean was that Mac had met them at a bar outside of Hartford called Anthony's last week. They couldn't give him any more of a description. He also paid them off with a money order so we really can't trace it back to him. It will be hard to prove if it was Logan."

"I'll call Sarah and see if she can do some digging," Rory went to the office to call Sarah before returning to watch movies, though her heart really wasn't in the movie night anymore. Her mind was definitely on Logan and how he could possibly do this to her.

* * *

Over the next three weeks, Logan sent flowers, coffee beans and letters to Rory trying to regain her friendship and love. She gave the flowers to an elderly neighbor who needed cheering up because she was missing her late husband. As for the coffee, it would be against the Gilmore Girls Rules to throw it away, even it if was from someone she hated; so she decided to bring it to work to share with the office. It was definitely an improvement over the normal office coffee. She kept the letters in a file so that she would have them as proof of Logan's intentions for Sarah, as he mentioned how much he loved her and wanted to marry her. Rory, Tristan, Finn and Caitlin had even spent some time with Sarah and Colin when Logan was busy.

Sarah came over to the penthouse the Sunday morning before everyone left for Las Vegas. Rory opened the door to see her smiling.

"I've got it!" Sarah exclaimed as they went to the living room where Caitlin, Finn, Tristan and even Colin were sitting.

Rory smiled at her excitement and asked, "What do you mean?"

"I have proof that Logan is your MaC."

"Really? When did you get it? What is it? How did you get it?" Rory fired the questions at her as they both sat down.

Sarah laughed and began to explain. "I met him at his office last night because we had to go to some dinner with friends of Mitchum. He had to talk to his dad about something so I asked if I could use his computer to check my email and look up some shoes I saw in a magazine. He agreed, told me he would be back in about ten minutes and left the office muttering something about, 'surprised you can even read.' I quickly started to look through his files on the computer and through the drawers in his desk. I found a folder on the computer labeled MaC, so I printed out everything in it and also emailed it to myself. It had the article, some letters and your mug shots. I found a hanging file with the same label containing the money order receipt and stub made out to Dean Forrester. I also found a receipt for Anthony's. I quickly made copies on the machine in his office and put everything in my purse before putting away the files. Then I looked up a cute pair of shoes that I did actually see in magazine. About a minute later he came back to his office and we went to dinner."

Rory squealed and jumped up to hug Sarah. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! With all of that we can definitely get him out of both of our lives!"

"You know Rory, you have enough evidence that you can get him arrested. I mean you have the restraining order and now you have proof that he is part of the extortion scheme. That right there is enough to get him out of your life and for Sarah to break off the engagement," Colin said logically.

"Oh I know, but Mitchum would figure out a way for it to get settled quietly and with no one the wiser. Nothing would change for Logan or the rest of the Huntzbergers for that matter. I am sure the Fallons wouldn't even find out that there was anything wrong. We need to make sure that this isn't covered up," Rory replied.

"You all look over the letters that Logan sent me and figure out which parts will be best for Sarah to use. I want to get this done before we leave for Las Vegas. I would usually call my mom to see if she has any ideas, but I think I know someone who can be more helpful." Rory went to her purse, got out her cellphone and then went into the master bedroom so she could make the call privately.

Tristan went to the office and got the file of letters that Logan had sent to Rory. He placed them on the coffee table in the living room and he, Caitlin, Finn, Colin, and Sarah looked over the letters as Rory made her phone call.

A half an hour later, Rory emerged from the bedroom with a huge smile on her face and a twinkle in her blue eyes. "Have you all read the letters and figured out which ones are best for Sarah?"

Colin, who had the letters in front of him, said, "I can't believe I have wasted time trying to help Logan the last couple of years. I always knew the kind of person he was; but I thought he was more committed to Sarah than this, even if the marriage is pretty much arranged. We can use almost every bit of these letters against him to help Sarah. They will also help you to prove that he's a threat to you and Tristan."

Tristan asked Rory, "Did you figure out a way to handle everything with Logan?"

Rory walked over to Tristan's chair and sat herself in his lap. She put her arms around his neck and kissed him. Then she said, "I sure did!" She leaned against Tristan as she told everyone the details of her phone conversation and the plan.

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A/N: Please, please, please review! Sorry if this chapter seems like a cliffhanger, but I have no idea how to expose Logan and what should happen to him! Any help you can give would be soooooo appreciated! Please choose the letter that best applies to you, click review and post it in the little box!

A) I loved this chapter even though it was short!

B) This chapter was just okay.

C) Why, oh why did I read this much of such a horrible story?

D) (please leave your own comments)

Please take 30 seconds to review! It might just inspire me to write more! Thank you!


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls or any music, movies, places or people mentioned or quoted. (oops I forgot this last chapter!)

A/N: Thank you so much for all of the suggestions as to what should happen to Logan. I used some ideas from Lathan_Lover, JJsMommy27, and diavoloduchessa so thank you for helping me get what I hope you all think is a great idea!

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**Chapter 12**

Wednesday morning, Sarah was sitting at a table in a coffee shop enjoying her company and coffee when her phone began to ring. She scowled at the Caller ID and then put on a fake smile and answered, "Logie-Bear! I'm so glad you called. I missed you."

Sarah could hear a heavy sigh from Logan on the other end of the call and then he cleared his throat and said rather unenthusiastically, "Hi Sarah. Um, I put off asking…I mean forgot to ask you to a fundraiser dinner."

Rolling her eyes she replied, "That sounds nice, where and when is it?"

Logan answered, "It's at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, tonight at seven. I will pick you up at six thirty."

Giving the phone a dirty look, Sarah said, "I'm sorry Logan. I already have plans tonight. I can't go with you."

Logan sputtered, "What? But you have to go with me. How will it look if you aren't there? We are engaged for God's sake, what will people think if I go without you?"

Giving the phone an evil smile, Sarah answered innocently and sweetly, "I know we're engaged silly Logie. You don't have to _remind_ me. I can't cancel my plans; it is too short of a notice. Just tell everyone that I have a conflicting engagement." Sarah smirked at what she said and thought to herself, 'And _you_ are the conflict in our engagement.'

Logan snorted at the comment and thought to himself, 'Conflicting engagement, big words and she probably doesn't even understand the double meaning in them.' He sighed and said, "Fine, I will make an excuse for you not being there."

Sarah replied with false happiness, "Great! Thanks Logie-Bear! Have fun tonight." She shook her head as she heard the line go dead without even a goodbye from Logan.

Sarah turned her focus back to her previous conversation when another cell phone began to ring. Colin glared at his cell phone as he held a finger to his lips. Sarah raised an eyebrow as Colin answered, "Hi Logan. I only have a minute to talk, what's up?"

"Hey man, I need you to come with me tonight to the fundraiser at the Met. Sarah is sick and I need you to fill her seat," Logan lied.

"Sorry to hear that she is sick. I'd love to go with you, but my parents already roped me into attending with them tonight. I will see you there though. I gotta go, I'm in the middle of something," Colin replied while giving Sarah an exasperated look at Logan's lie.

"Fine, I will just go alone. See you tonight Colin." Colin ended the call and looked up with a smirk.

"It's perfect. He's going to go alone now. Boy is he in for a surprise tonight," he said.

Rory and Tristan stood up and Rory said, "He definitely is. We have to get going. I have a few last minute preparations to finish. We will see you both tonight." There was a mischievous twinkle in her eye as she waved goodbye and left with Tristan.

* * *

Logan arrived at the Metropolitan Museum of Art at exactly seven o'clock and walked inside to look for his parents or someone else that he knew. He already looked bored and was eyeing some college girls as he walked toward the Grand Hall.

Rory and Tristan stood off to the side of the entrance, keeping an eye on Logan without him noticing. They saw a blonde woman, not Sarah, sneak up behind Logan and embrace him. They stepped a bit closer so they could hear the conversation.

"Honor! Boy am I glad to see you. I thought you were in Italy while Josh was in China for business or I would have invited you myself." Logan was genuinely surprised to see his sister.

"It was raining non-stop in Italy so I came back early. I heard through the grapevine that you were attending alone tonight and I know Mom and Dad would never forgive me if they found I out I was in town and didn't fill the gap in the table. How would it look if there was an open seat at the Huntzberger's table?" Honor rolled her eyes at the thought.

Logan laughed and nodded. "I know, I was worried about what to tell Dad, but you can fill in for Sarah now. They would rather see you than her."

"Of course I will fill in for her little brother. I know the duties of this family well. Shall we go find the table?" Honor asked as she took Logan's arm and headed into the hall.

Rory and Tristan followed Logan and Honor at a distance and found their own table, just a few down from the Huntzbergers'. Richard, Emily, Francine, Christopher and Lorelai were already seated for dinner. Colin McCrae and his parents rounded out the table of ten. Finn, Caitlin and Sarah sat near the back of the room, opposite the press so as to not draw Logan's attention. Rory, Tristan and Colin kept their distance from their friends and only acknowledged their presence with a few subtle glances.

As The Huntzberger Publishing Company was the main sponsor of the fundraiser, there was a lot of focus on their family and their table. At the Huntzberger table sat Elias, Mitchum, Shira, Logan, Honor, Robert and Lynn Fallon and three vice-presidents of different divisions of Huntzberger Publishing. Robert and Lynn were surprised by Logan's explanation that Sarah was sick, but accepted the excuse. After dinner, Elias Huntzberger rose from their table to give a speech.

Elias began his speech by saying, "Welcome this fine evening and thank you all for your generous donations. As many of you know, I am Elias Huntzberger, owner of The Huntzberger Publishing Company. My son, Mitchum is currently the CEO and his son, Logan is Vice-President. Our business is news. I like to report the news, not be a headline. However, there are times when that is not an option. This is one of those times. I want to announce some changes to the company tonight and I ask for the press in attendance tonight to hold all questions until the press conference which we will hold later. Mitchum, Logan, will you please join me on the stage?"

Shira smiled at Mitchum, believing that Elias was finally going to pass the complete ownership of the company to him. Shira gave both Mitchum and Logan a kiss before they left the table.

Elias directed Logan and Mitchum to chairs set up to the side of the podium and gestured for them to sit. A projection screen lit up on the other side of the stage, perfectly set up so everyone in attendance could see.

Elias spoke again, "Mitchum. I put my trust in you this past year to take over my role in our business. You have expanded The Huntzberger Publishing Company more than I ever imagined, especially the past few months. Logan, you are becoming more like your father each day." There was a small applause at this point. Elias held up a hand to silence the crowd and continued, "Yes, that seems like a good thing, doesn't it? I am sorry to say that this night is not going to go as either of you expected. I want you to know that I am doing this for the good of the company." Elias nodded his head and four police officers surrounded a surprised Mitchum and Logan.

As the crowd began to realize what was happening, Elias took control of the situation before things got too out of hand. "By my sharing this with you, I hope to retain faith in my company and also to allow my company to report what I know will be a big story. It has recently come to my attention that my son and grandson have been hiding things from me. I would like to share with you some footage recorded in my son's office."

Elias pushed a button and Mitchum and Logan appeared on the screen.

'Logan, do you have those contracts that I asked you to fix?' Mitchum asked.

Logan put a file on Mitchum's desk and pointed to the papers. 'Yeah dad. I changed the wording like you asked and added a bit of my own ideas. That little family run newspaper won't know what hit them. I doubt they will even have a lawyer look over this contract. They could easily get ten million dollars from our buy-out; but with the scandal you set up and the undervaluation paperwork I have created, we are getting it for less than one million. And they will never realize it!'

Mitchum looked at the papers and said, 'They look good. Changing how we acquire businesses was so easy to do this last year with my father giving me so much control.'

The crowd gasped again as they saw the footage. The next scene they saw was Mitchum alone in his office talking on the phone while looking over some paperwork.

'Shira, I figured it all out finally. I will be able to take full control of the company just like I have taken control of the finances the past year. Embezzlement really is easy when I control who is hired and am able to have access to all of the accounts. I have made sure that everything is in order for the year-end numbers to reflect the missing income which is now in our bank accounts. The old man will never suspect a thing. I will see you later this evening.'

Elias once again spoke before the crowd could get out of control, "I have frozen all of your liquid assets Mitchum and Shira and a full investigation will be made until everything is reported correctly. I will not run a dishonest business and commit fraud. All of your previous business acquisitions will be reevaluated and I will make restitutions for my son's deceit. I want to thank some incredible women for bringing to light these indiscretions. Now, each woman will benefit tonight in some way and I would like to give each of them an opportunity to speak before my former employees, and disinherited relatives, are escorted from the building. The first woman has earned my respect over the years and I am thankful for all of her help. Rory Gilmore Hayden, will you please join me?"

Rory and Tristan smiled at one another as she rose and approached the stage.

Rory took the button that Elias offered to her so she could control the projector. Before changing the picture on the screen she said, "An ex-boyfriend of mine recently tried to extort money from me by exposing my past to the media. He wasn't smart enough to do it on his own and I figured he got help from you, Logan; but I couldn't prove it."

Logan scoffed, "Of course you couldn't prove something like that because I didn't do it. Come on Ace, you know I would never do that to you. I love you."

Rory gave him a devilish smile, "Oh, but you did do it Logan. And I have your lovely fiancée to thank for helping me prove it. She really is quite brilliant. We have become very close friends and you never should have underestimated her."

Logan rolled his eyes and snorted a bit before saying, "Yeah right she's brilliant. She is as smart as a box of rocks. She couldn't have helped you prove anything; she is the reason dumb-blonde jokes exist, they are all about her."

Rory raised an eyebrow as she pushed the button and copies of all of Logan's MaC files flashed across the screen. For good measure, copies of Sarah's diploma from Princeton were added to the screen. Logan paled and started to visibly sweat.

"Do you still want to insult her intelligence Logan? She found all the evidence I needed. And now I am going to help her." Rory pushed the button again and the screen showed the letters Logan wrote to Rory declaring his love while the recording from when Logan came to her office played for all to hear.

Robert and Lynn Fallon started to stand to confront Logan when Sarah appeared and winked at them while gesturing for them to sit. She walked up to Logan and said with venom in her voice, "I've had enough pretending to be stupid. You never should have left me alone in your office and you never should have treated me like I was inferior to you. Logan, you are a despicable, deceitful, demeaning bastard and even though I hate that you will get almost as much pleasure out of this as I will, I am breaking off our engagement."

She then smiled sweetly and in a sugary tone, "By the way, _Logie-Bear_" she paused to bat her eyelashes a little. Then she finished with a completely straight face and serious voice, "I love Colin and he loves me." Sarah took off her engagement ring and walked over to Shira, dropped it into her lap and said, "I wouldn't want you to miss out on a single penny of the Huntzberger money, especially now that it looks like Mitchum will not be able to provide for you." She caught Colin's eye and the two joined Finn and Caitlin at the back table.

Rory smiled at Sarah and then turned back to Logan. She said, "Now, I could have had you arrested for violating the restraining order and for the extortion scheme, but that wasn't good enough. I needed a little more help to figure out how to best expose what you have done so that it wouldn't be covered up like everything else you do. Remember when you were in the hospital, Logan? You needed some transfusions and the perfect person to do that should have been your sister; but she wasn't a match. It always made me wonder; so I did some research and kept in contact with your sister. I figured out her past recently and once we figured out what you and your dad had done not only to the company, but to Sarah, Tristan and me, we decided to fix things once and for all. So, all this," Rory paused and waved at Logan, Mitchum and the whole set up. Then she continued by saying, "was accomplished because of her." Rory returned to her table so that Honor could have her turn in the spotlight.

"Honor! You did this? What the hell? Why?" Logan yelled outraged as the police held him in place.

"Oh little brother, didn't you ever wonder why you were heir to The Huntzberger Publishing Company when I should have been the heiress since I was older? Didn't you know that dad and Shira eloped four months before you were born? Dad wasn't ready to settle down when I was born so he abandoned my mother. My mother got sick and brought me to him and dad convinced Shira to take me in as her own. She agreed, on the condition that you would be heir and not me. Grandpa and Grandma were busy with the European division for years and dad and Shira convinced them that I was their firstborn and that they married before _I_ was born, not you. They didn't question the story and thus began our life. My mother was cheated out of the family that should have been hers and I was cheated out of my destiny," Honor said with loathing.

"Honor, sit down, you are embarrassing your father and me. I can't believe you and that little tramp Rory Gilmore would do this us," Shira said loudly. The crowd gasped at Shira's statement and she visibly paled when she realized what she had said.

Honor narrowed her eyes and said, "Shira. _You_ sit down. I overheard Dad and Logan talking a few weeks ago and I knew they were up to no good, but I wanted proof before I confronted them so I had Josh set up the cameras last week hoping to catch something before they ruined the family business. Then Rory called to share everything she had discovered about my past and also what Logan had done to her and Sarah. I started watching the recordings and had my proof. Grandpa, Sarah, Rory and I met on Monday and we set everything in motion. You messed with the wrong Huntzberger, Shira. I can't believe I ever thought you were my mother. I hope you end up destitute like my real mother did before she died. Rory Gilmore Hayden is a great woman and you have never been and definitely will never be even a quarter of the woman she is. Oh, and I now own the mansion and all of the assets in it; so you have until tomorrow night to remove yourself and what _I_ deem to be rightfully yours from it."

Shira looked panicked as she sat in her chair. She sputtered, "You can't do this to me!"

Honor towered over a cowering Shira and said, "But I already did. You might want to make sure you don't go too far away though, Shira. You are not innocent in all of this and it probably will be only a matter of time before enough evidence is found for you to be formally charged with conspiracy."

Elias cleared his throat and Honor left a trembling Shira at the table and joined him on the stage.

Elias smiled and said, "Tonight begins a new chapter for The Huntzberger Publishing Company. Though I intended to step down completely from the company in a few months, it obviously is not an option right now. However, I am pleased to announce that Honor Huntzberger-Eastman, my granddaughter and the rightful heiress, will assume the duties of CEO effective immediately. Thank you Honor, Rory and Sarah for what you have done. To the press in attendance, I will be holding a press conference in one hour in the lecture hall. To the rest of the guests, please enjoy the rest of the evening. Part of The New York Philharmonic is here tonight and I want to see the dance floor full. Thank you for your attention and hopefully your understanding." Elias stepped off the stage while the crowd applauded. Elias gestured at Mitchum and Logan while he stepped and said just loud enough for those nearest him to hear, "Officers, take them away."

* * *

So I thought that was a good place to stop the chapter. I know that our favorite main characters were not in this much, but this chapter was about what would happen to Logan. I thought I would take down the other Huntzbergers with him! So, who guessed that it was Honor that she called?

Here is this chapter's review survey! Choose the letter that best fits your opinion and click review and type it in the little box! Reviews really do make my day! Thank you to all who have reviewed past chapters!

A) That was awesome! They all deserve what was coming to them!

B) You could have done better.

C) Wow that was horrible. Goodbye to this story.

D) (add your own comment)

Please take 30 seconds to review!


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Thank you all so much for the reviews on the last chapter! I am glad that you all liked how I dealt with the Huntzbergers. I hope this next chapter is liked by all!

Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls or the people, places, movies, etc. mentioned.

* * *

**Chapter 13**

On Thursday morning, a pounding noise disturbed Rory's sleep. She groaned and buried her head under the covers and snuggled closer to Tristan. Tristan cracked one eye open as he felt Rory move closer. Closing his eye again, he wrapped his arms around her and breathed in the scent of her shampoo. He was just about to drift back to sleep when the pounding started again and his cell phone began to ring on the nightstand next to him. He rolled over and answered, "What do you want?"

"Good morning mate, I hope I didn't disturb anything," Finn said sounding excited.

Tristan groaned and replied, "I was enjoying a little thing called sleep with a gorgeous woman by my side. What do you want Finn?"

"I have been knocking on your bloody door for the past five minutes and you haven't answered. Get up and let me in now!" Finn whined.

"Fine. Give me a minute and I will be there and stop knocking," Tristan grumbled as the knocking finally stopped. Tristan put the phone down and stared at the ceiling for a few seconds before sighing and getting out of bed. Rory pouted as her eyes opened a bit. Tristan pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt before kissing Rory on the top of her head and leaving the room to answer the door, stopping in the kitchen to start the two coffee pots brewing.

Tristan opened the door and glared at Finn who was practically bouncing with excitement.

"About time. It is a really good thing that you have the penthouse and therefore the whole floor to yourself, otherwise some of your neighbors would have been disturbed by my knocking," Finn said.

Tristan raised one eyebrow and gave Finn an exasperated look.

"Well are you going to invite me in? As lovely as the hallway is, I know for a fact that the view inside of the penthouse is much better." Finn came inside without waiting for an invitation, dragging two suitcases behind him. After leaving the suitcases in the entryway, he walked toward the kitchen.

"Finn, what are you doing here this early? You're the one who hates mornings and has said that they shouldn't exist," Tristan inquired as he pulled out two coffee mugs from the cupboard and got Finn a glass of orange juice from the refrigerator.

"What do you mean early? It is ten o'clock and I haven't been able to sleep since five. Caitlin had to go into work last night after the fundraiser to get the article about the Huntzbergers into today's paper and so she went back to her apartment when she was done to get some sleep before we leave this afternoon. I am just too wound up about my surprise for her and needed to come here and make sure everything is ready. Good morning love!" Finn exclaimed as Rory shuffled into the kitchen.

Rory grumbled in reply. Tristan poured the first cup of coffee that was ready and handed it to her. She drank the whole cup, wincing a bit at the heat but not letting it stop her. When she finished the cup, she poured another cup and inhaled before smiling and fully opening her eyes.

"Okay Finn, now I am ready to talk. Why are you here so early?" Rory asked while sipping her second cup of coffee.

"As I was saying as you came into the kitchen, I am too excited about this weekend to sleep and I wanted to make sure you were able to get everything ready." Finn took a drink of the orange juice in front of him, looked at it and said, "Hmm, you know, I don't remember the last time I had alcohol-free orange juice. It's pretty good; I may have to try it again sometime."

Rory rolled her eyes and replied, "I have a couple of suitcases packed for Caitlin along with some garment bags for the honeymoon. I have everything for the wedding packed in one of my suitcases, except for her dress which I am picking up on the way to the airstrip. Tristan and I will be at the plane before everyone else gets there so I can get it all put away where she can't see it. Everyone who is coming with us, including Caitlin so she wouldn't get suspicious, was instructed to bring formal clothing for Saturday night, though only my mom and Sarah know the real reason why. And since they know, my dad and Colin probably know too, but I think the secret is safe. I know Sarah won't say anything and I promised my mom I would buy her a new pair of black stilettos to replace the ones I stole from her and a new pair of Jimmy Choo's if she kept the secret. She pretended to zip her lips and then feed the key to Paul Anka."

"I brought my extra suitcases with me and they are in the entryway so you can bring them with you too. Caitlin would think I was crazy if I brought three suitcases just for the weekend," Finn said as he went to the refrigerator and started looking for something to eat. He opened a few take-out containers before finally settling on the leftover pizza. Rory also grabbed a piece from the box. Tristan crinkled his nose as they started to eat the cold pizza.

"How can you both eat that? It is way too early to have pizza, and then to eat it cold? Yuck," Tristan looked completely disgusted. Rory looked at him like he was a bit crazy and asked, "It is never too early for pizza. What would you eat?"

Tristan went to the refrigerator and pulled out a grapefruit and put it in front of Rory. She put down her slice of pizza, picked up the grapefruit and looked at it. "What is this and where did it come from?" she asked.

"You're kidding right? You know what this is," Tristan replied looking a little worried.

Rory smirked at the look on his face, "Of course I know what it is. It's a grapefruit, but really, why is it in _our_ refrigerator?"

"Because sometimes I feel like I need to eat _something_ that's healthy. I bought it yesterday at the stand down the street. I like them sometimes." Tristan took out a knife and cut it in half, as Rory watched him closely. He placed half in a bowl and then looked at her. She appeared to be examining the cut grapefruit. He raised an eyebrow at her, took out another bowl and put the other half in it and handed her a grapefruit spoon. Rory's eyes got wider as she looked at the spoon and then the bowl. "Why does this spoon have a funny edge?"

"It's a grapefruit spoon, it is so you can scoop the fruit out to eat it," Tristan explained.

"What does it taste like?" she asked.

"You have never had grapefruit before? I would have thought Luke had made you eat it at some point," Tristan said.

"Oh he tried, but mom would just laugh and then say something that would confuse and frustrate him and he would end up making us pancakes. I guess I can try it," she said as she scooped out some of the fruit. She slowly brought the spoon to her mouth and ate it. Her whole face puckered as she swallowed it. "Eww, that is horrible. It is so sour. How can you eat that?"

Tristan laughed and took out the sugar bowl as he said, "I usually add some sugar to cut the sour taste. You want to try again with the sugar?"

She looked at the sugar bowl and then back to the grapefruit as if it were a really tough decision to make. "This better improve the taste or you are in trouble," she said as she heaped so much sugar on the top of the grapefruit that it looked white. Then she took a bite and smiled saying, "You're right, this is much better! You can't even taste the grapefruit anymore."

Tristan just shook his head as he lightly sprinkled some sugar on his half. Deciding to focus on Finn for a minute he asked, "So Finn, what exactly are your plans for the weekend?"

"Well, I am going to propose tomorrow morning. I have a private tour arranged for all of us and her parents will also be there as a surprise after I propose. I have all the arrangements for the wedding made for Saturday night. I think everything is ready. I am worried I forgot something." Finn was no longer looking excited, but now he looked a bit panicked.

"Do you have the ring?" Tristan asked him.

His eyes grew wide and he exclaimed, "I knew there was something I forgot. I have to pick up the engagement ring and both of our wedding bands this morning before I go to meet Caitlin. I forgot all about that until you said something. I don't know if I can do this. What if she says no? What if she doesn't like the whole idea of a surprise wedding? What if she has always dreamed of planning her own wedding and I'm ruining it for her? What if she breaks up with me because of this?"

Rory shook her head and said, "Finn, she isn't going to say no. Caitlin and I have talked a lot about weddings, especially since she has been helping me plan my wedding. I know that she doesn't care where she gets married; she once told me that all that matters to her is that she gets to marry you someday. She is going to love everything you have done for her because she loves you. Don't worry. Just go pick up those rings and make sure that you _don't_ get to the plane today before one thirty. I need the time to get things on without her knowing. Now that you have successfully woken us up for the day and eaten most of my pizza, you need to leave so we can get ready."

"Okay, I'm going. It is a good thing Harry Winston is on the way to my apartment from here. I have to pick up the rings, then get my suitcase for the weekend and get to Caitlin's where Colin and Sarah are meeting us to go to the airplane. I will see you both later." Finn walked to the door and left without waiting for a response from Rory and Tristan.

Tristan turned to Rory and said, "I think that is the most organized he has ever sounded. No jokes, no alcohol comments, no crazy Australian phrases, he must be nervous."

Rory nodded in response. Then she said, "I am going to go take a shower and pack a few more things. Don't worry about the mess in here. The maid that my grandmother recommended is coming this afternoon and she will clean up everything."

Tristan looked Rory up and down and said, "Shower huh? Want some company?" He smirked at her.

"I would love some company, but I don't think that we will be able to leave on time if we shower together. Why don't you make sure you have everything you need for the weekend while I shower and then you can get ready." Rory went to the bathroom as Tristan pouted.

* * *

An hour later they were ready to leave and Tristan called downstairs for the doorman to bring a cart so they could get all of the luggage out of the apartment without making multiple trips. Once everything was loaded into a waiting limousine, they drove to pick up Caitlin's dress. Rory went into the store while Tristan waited in the lime. Ten minutes later she came out with a large garment bag then they were off to the airstrip. They arrived at just after one and Rory quickly took the dress onto the private plane where she hung it in the pilot's closet, knowing Caitlin would never go in there.

All of the suitcases were loaded onto the plane and they had just finished when a stretch SUV limousine arrived. The door opened before the driver could get to it and Lorelai jumped out and started to jump up and down. "We're here, we're here. Let's get this party started!" She was followed by Christopher and then Emily who said, "Honestly Lorelai, could you for once just act like an adult and behave yourself? Hello Rory, Tristan. See Lorelai, Rory knows how to behave calmly and act appropriately." As soon as she said this, the calm Rory was replaced by a squealing and bouncing Rory when Lane emerged from the limo and joined Lorelai in the jumping.

Emily sighed heavily and said, "Oh for goodness sake; I spoke too soon." Soon Sookie and Natalie joined in the jumping, squealing and talking and Emily gave up trying to get them to calm themselves. One by one from the limo, Richard, Jackson, Zach, Francine, Janlen, Michael, and Tristan's other grandparents, John and Susan appeared on the tarmac. The driver of the limo began to carry the piles of luggage from the large trunk to the airplane. As the limo left and the grandparents got on the airplane, another limousine arrived. The group of women outside the airplane had barely calmed down only to get excited again as Caitlin and Sarah joined them. Finn and Colin got out of the limo and Colin looked at the group of women like they were crazy.

Colin asked Tristan, "What are they doing?" Tristan just shook his head and said, "I have no idea. Lorelai started it and they all joined her. I have never seen my mother act like that before; I don't exactly know what to think."

Finn stepped in between Colin and Tristan and put an arm around both of their shoulders and started to jump up and down causing both of them to stumble a bit as they tried to get out of Finn's hold. "Finn, get off of us," Colin said.

Finn stuck out his lip and pouted and said, "It looked fun; I wanted to try. But if you two are just going to be spoil sports about it than I will find someone else to join me. Chris, Zach?" Christopher shook his head and Zach replied, "I don't think so dude." Finn pouted more and then his whole face lit up and he said, "I know what will lighten you all up a bit. I will make everyone a Kangaroo Surprise; then you will all be in the jumping spirit! To the plane!" With that statement he walked on the airplane and everyone followed him.

After take-off and once he was able to get up, Finn began to fix drinks claiming that the Kangaroo Surprise was sure to liven up the whole party. He passed out the drinks, with a few special requests from the grandparents and beers to Zach and Jackson who didn't want to take chance on the mystery drink. Then he made a toast. "Here is to enjoying time with friends and family and celebrating life and love. Here is to one last weekend of freedom for those about to be married and to a weekend full of surprises and fun! Las Vegas here we come!"

There was a chorus of "Here, here!" and everyone tried the drinks Finn had made. Lorelai's eyes lit up and she began to bounce even more as she took another sip of the drink. After realizing that a Kangaroo Surprise was made of chocolate and coffee liqueurs with extra coffee and chocolate, Christopher tried to take Lorelai's drink away from her. She started to growl at him. He said, "Finn, while this drink is good," Lorelai interrupted him saying, "It's not just good Chris, it is Heaven in a glass. If it were possible to marry a drink, I would have to divorce the drink from Weston's that I previously would have married, thinking it was the best, and then marry this drink. It cannot even compare to the wonderfulness of this most delicious beverage of the gods." Christopher shook his head and continued saying, "As I was saying before, while this drink is good, I'm not sure it was the best choice to give to this crazy lady." Lorelai glared at him and Finn just laughed.

* * *

After two hours and four more Kangaroo Surprises for Lorelai, the airplane landed in Las Vegas. On the way to the hotel, Rory told everyone, "We should be in our rooms by four and Finn has made reservations for us at eight for dinner. It is semi-formal, so that gives everyone time to do whatever you want before you have to get ready. We can all meet in the lobby just before eight and walk to the restaurant together."

They all traveled to Wynn Las Vegas where a concierge and numerous bellhops brought them and the luggage to the rooms. Rory had called ahead to let the concierge know that the first room needed to be given to Finn and Caitlin so she did not see the large quantities of luggage delivered to Rory and Tristan's room. Rory and Tristan had paid for all of the rooms so none of their guests had to worry about anything other than having fun. Each couple, and Francine and Janlen individually, got their own suite that had a large living room with floor to ceiling windows, a bar, a dining room, a private massage parlor, a large bedroom and a bathroom with a separate dressing area. Even after traveling with Finn in the past and now having more money than she knew what to do with, Rory was still not accustomed to staying in such luxurious rooms.

Once in their room, Tristan hid all of Finn and Caitlin's luggage in one of the closets in case Caitlin came into their room, then he joined Rory on the bed where she had collapsed. He kissed her cheek, then her chin and finally her lips. Rory ran her fingers through his hair as she got lost in his kisses. Tristan slowly pulled back and she opened her eyes as a smile played on her lips. Rory looked into his eyes and asked, "What would you like to do for the next few hours?" Tristan wiggled his eyebrows and said, "Hmm, well, first I think you need to get out of these dirty traveling clothes. I believe that I missed out on a shower for two this morning. What do you say we fix that problem and then get dressed and explore the hotel a bit before dinner?" Rory laughed softly and replied, "I think that sounds like a great idea." Tristan kissed her again and grabbed Rory's hand and pulled her toward the shower.

* * *

Two hours later, Rory was dressed in a green halter style cocktail dress with her hair in loose curls and Tristan was wearing a black suit with a green tie to match Rory's dress. They still had over an hour and a half before they needed to meet everyone for dinner and Rory really wanted to see the casino. As they exited the elevators on the main floor, they met Lorelai and Christopher. They were both dressed for dinner and Lorelai was also trying to drag Christopher to the casino.

"Did you know that they would be this excited about gambling?" Christopher asked Tristan as Lorelai and Rory started planning what game to play first.

"I had no idea. I know they went to Atlantic City once, but do you think they really know how to play anything?" Tristan replied.

"I don't know. I think they mostly played Blackjack or the slots." Christopher shrugged his shoulders.

Rory heard what Tristan and her dad had said and she whispered something to Lorelai who nodded. Then Rory took Tristan's arm and said, "Tristan, I want to play poker. Will you show me how you play?"

"Oh me too, me too!" Lorelai said excitedly as she pulled on Christopher's sleeve.

Both men agreed and lead them to a low limit table. There they played a couple of hands as Rory and Lorelai watched. Christopher then asked, "So do you two want to play now?" Rory nodded and Lorelai said, "I think so, but I want to play at those tables up there."

Tristan said, "That's the high stakes area, don't you want to start down here where it doesn't matter if you lose?"

Rory shook her head and said, "I don't care about the money, I want to play up there too." She and Lorelai walked away before the men could reply and they were forced to follow.

After giving their names, they were allowed to enter the high stakes area and found two tables with new games about to start. There were six other men at each table and Rory and Tristan went to one table and Lorelai and Christopher to the other. Once they all had their chips, the games began. They played for about an hour and Lorelai and Rory appeared to be having beginner's luck. Christopher and Tristan were nearly out of chips and Lorelai and Rory were both commanding the tables having won all the chips from the other men who had since left when they were out of chips. The two women each had a crowd watching them play.

Right as Rory beat Tristan and the crowd cheered, Finn and Caitlin approached the table and said, "Wow mate, it takes guts to play the lovely R.G. Hayden; even I won't play her, and I am usually up for anything."

Tristan gave Rory a shocked look and said to Finn, "What do you mean you won't play her? She just had beginner's luck." They all stood and walked to watch Lorelai and Christopher finish their game.

"Beginner's luck? She's no beginner; I have been losing to her for years. I finally got smart and stopped playing against her. She used to clean out the guys in the LDB at least once a month until they stopped letting her play." Finn started to laugh at the look of shock on Tristan's face.

Tristan turned to Rory and said, "But you asked me to show you how to play; you didn't know how."

Rory smirked and said, "No, I asked you to show me how _you_ play. I never said I didn't know how to play."

Tristan's jaw dropped and Finn and Caitlin laughed as Rory gave him an innocent look. Just then Lorelai squealed and said, "I win!" and the crowd cheered again. Christopher shook his head as he gave Lorelai the same look Tristan was giving Rory. Lorelai turned to Rory and asked with a wink, "How did you do?" Rory smiled and said, "I won too!"

Lorelai nodded and said, "I taught you well, young grasshopper." Christopher tried to form words, but was only able to say, "How?"

Lorelai replied, "I taught Rory how to play when she was in kindergarten. We used to bet Tootsie Rolls to help her with her math, self-discipline, critical thinking, how to analyze different situations and how to read people. I think I was successful in my teaching methods if I do say so myself."

Tristan turned to Finn and asked, "And you knew this about her? Why didn't you warn me that she is a card shark?"

Finn shrugged and said, "You didn't ask me."

Rory and Lorelai took the chips that they had won and brought them to the window to cash them in and then the whole group walked toward the lobby where everyone was starting to gather to go to dinner.

* * *

After a nice dinner, everyone split up again, some people going to the casino and others to their rooms knowing that they had to be up and ready by nine for the tour Finn had arranged for everyone. Rory and Tristan took a limo with Lane, Zach, Sarah, Colin, Finn and Caitlin to the Bellagio to see the fountains and then went across the street to the Paris Hotel and went to the top of the Eiffel Tower.

As they looked out on the Las Vegas strip from the top of the Eiffel Tower, Tristan held Rory in his arms and said, "You know, I have never been to the real Eiffel Tower. My parents and I traveled throughout France many times; we even own some properties there, being DuGreys. My dad never wanted to go up the tower; he is a bit afraid of heights so I never got to go. Will you go there with me someday?"

Rory turned around his arms and looked up at him and said, "Of course I will; I will go anywhere with you Tristan. I haven't been up to the top either. The day mom and I went, there was a thunderstorm and it was closed. And then when I went with my grandma the next summer, she didn't want to go to the "tourist trap" as she called it. We will go whenever you want." Tristan leaned down and kissed her.

Rory hugged him tightly before she looked around at their friends. Each couple was wrapped in each other's arms enjoying the beautiful view. Knowing they had plans for the next day, they eventually had to leave and they all traveled back to their hotel to get a good night's sleep.

Finn was so wound up going over his plans for the morning that he wasn't able to sleep. He kept wondering if Caitlin would really want to marry him. When he turned over yet again, Caitlin snuggled closer to him and said, "I love you so much Finn." Wrapping his arms around her, he said, "And I love you Caitlin." Holding her in his arms, he was finally able to calm down and fall asleep, knowing the next day would be perfect.

* * *

A/N: So I hope you all enjoyed that chapter and I would love to hear what you thought. Please leave a review, signed or anonymous. If you have never left a review for a story, I would be honored to be your first! I will make it easy for you and give another survey. Choose the answer that best suits you, click review and type it in the box. As always extra comments are appreciated.

A) This chapter was great again! I am excited to read about Finn's surprise proposal!

B) Ehh, this chapter was fine.

C) I wish I wouldn't have wasted my time reading this.

D) (Leave your own comment)

Thank you!


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed. Please see the author's note at the end!

Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls or any of the people, places, things, movies or songs in this story.

* * *

**Chapter 14**

Finn woke up on Friday morning the same way he did many mornings since he was in high school, with red hair splayed across his chest. For over the last year and a half it had been the same red hair and it was attached to the only woman he ever thought about now. To Finn, Caitlin was the only redhead that existed now and just looking at her made him fall deeper in love each day. Finn gently brushed her hair off the side of her face so he could look at her. As he watched her sleep, he thought about his plans for the day and hoped that everything would work.

Caitlin awoke to the feeling of the arms of the man she loved holding her. She opened her green eyes and they were met with another pair of green eyes, ones belonging to the man who had won her heart through cheesy pick-up lines and his boyish antics. The thing that had won her over the most though was his passion for life. He made her feel alive and though she knew he would give her anything in the world that she desired, all she wanted was to be with him. She smiled at him before moving so she could kiss him good morning.

As she pulled away from him a bit she asked, "What are you doing up already? I thought I would have to drag you out of bed kicking and screaming just to get you to be on time for a tour that you organized."

Finn laughed a little nervously and he hoped she didn't notice. He shrugged as he said, "I'm too excited about what I have planned for today that I couldn't sleep anymore."

Caitlin's eyes twinkled as she asked, "What do you have planned for today? Please tell me Finn; you know you want to!"

Finn tapped the tip of her nose and said, "I can't tell you. No one knows what today will bring and I intend to keep it that way."

Caitlin gave him a seductive look and said, "What if I make it worth your while to tell me?"

Before he had a chance to answer, there was a knock on the door. Finn gave Caitlin a wink and put a robe on as he went to answer it. Breakfast for two was being delivered. Finn had set it up so everyone in their group would have breakfast delivered to their rooms with a note explaining that they needed to meet in the lobby at nine. When the waiter left, Finn carried a tray of Caitlin's favorite foods to her so she could enjoy breakfast in bed. She exclaimed, "Breakfast in bed? That is such a nice surprise Finn."

Finn took a piece of toast off her plate and headed to the bathroom to take a shower, saying, "Today will be full of surprises. Now eat up and get ready. Oh, and wear something green. I just love you in green!"

* * *

At quarter to nine Finn and Caitlin left their room. They met Rory and Tristan in the hall and Tristan gave Finn a questioning look. Rory and Caitlin started talking as Tristan discretely whispered to Finn, "Do you have the ring?"

Finn's eyes got big and he stopped breathing for a second. He patted the pocket on his pants and sighed when he felt the ring. Tristan just laughed quietly at how nervous Finn was.

Everyone had gathered in the lobby of the hotel at nine and then they were escorted to two waiting limousines. Their destination was less than a mile away, but because the paparazzi had learned of the group's arrival in Las Vegas, Finn arranged for the cars to take them to their destination. They arrived at another hotel and were escorted by hotel security to a private V.I.P. entrance. Once they walked through a door, they found themselves in a beautiful garden.

Finn had arranged a private tour of The Secret Garden and some shows at The Mirage. Everyone toured the gardens where they saw beautiful trees, flowers, and rare plants. Emily found some flowers that she wanted to have planted when she got home and Lorelai rolled her eyes since the flowers were native to the desert and not Hartford. Throughout the gardens were many of the animals that had been used in Siegfried and Roy's show before it ended. They saw white lions, white tigers, panthers and leopards. There were even two white tiger cubs that one of the trainers brought out to show them.

Finn seemed to get more and more nervous as the morning progressed. Tristan saw that one of the tiger cubs had a pink bow on it and he wondered if the ring was attached to it. As all the younger women rushed forward to see the cubs, Tristan grabbed ahold of Rory and whispered, "Do you think that Finn is going to propose now?" He nodded his head toward Caitlin who was holding the white cub and Finn who was looking at her in awe.

Rory looked at them and then turned back to Tristan, "No, that would be romantic, but that isn't Finn. I expect something more uniquely Finn. Can I go hold the tiger now?"

Tristan smirked and kissed her neck growling a little before he said, "What? I'm not enough of a tiger for you, Mary? You can hold me anytime."

She laughed as she squirmed in his arms. "Maybe you can remind me how much of a tiger you are later? Right now, I want to hold that one." She stuck her tongue out at him as she got away.

Lorelai was holding one of the tigers tightly and said, "Chris, I want one. Will you buy me a tiger please? I will name him George and I will hug him and pet him and squeeze him." She fluttered her eyelashes and flashed her big blue eyes at him.

"Lore, you can't be serious. I am in shock that you have been able to keep Paul Anka alive; there is no way I am getting you a tiger," Christopher said as one of the trainers gave him a questioning look at the Paul Anka reference. To which he replied, "Her dog, not the real Paul Anka."

"But Chris, it's so cute," she whined.

"It may be cute now, but look behind you. It will get huge like that one and it will be able to kill you. It would probably think Ben and Alex are snacks. There is no way we are getting a tiger," Christopher said.

"But please, pretty please, with a cherry on top?" Lorelai kept begging. Christopher was starting to get frustrated and was at a loss as to how to say no yet again so he just shook his head.

"Rory, you think it is cute right? You would come and visit George wouldn't you?" Lorelai tried a different tactic for persuasion.

"It is definitely cute. But you know Dad has a point. You wouldn't have anywhere to put it once it grew. Besides, we aren't cat people," Rory said simply.

Lorelai nodded and said, "Oh yeah. I forgot. Okay Chris, I don't want a tiger anymore. I want a new purse instead."

Christopher gave Rory a grateful look and said to Lorelai, "I will get you a new purse."

"And new shoes, and a new watch and a new hat," she started to bounce as she listed everything she could think of.

"I will get you a new purse Lore. Now give the tiger to Lane; it's her turn to hold it," Christopher lead Lorelai away from the tiger cubs and they wandered to look at a waterfall and some other animals.

After they all had their fill of the tiger cubs and the rest of the Secret Garden, they went to The Dolphin Habitat and watched the dolphins perform. During the show, Finn whispered to Caitlin, "I need to go make sure the next surprise is ready. I will be back soon."

"How many more surprises are there?" Caitlin asked hoping to get some details from him.

Finn thought for a moment trying to count out the surprises in his head before replying, "Before we leave this hotel there will be at least four more." With a kiss and a wink he left.

Seeing Finn leave, Tristan asked Rory, "Now?"

She watched Finn for a few seconds before shaking her head, "I don't think so. Hopefully he does it soon though, I hate waiting."

* * *

Finn returned at the end of the dolphin show and said to everyone, "This next surprise took a lot of thought. I wanted to find something that everyone could relate to and enjoy. If you will all just follow the man in the red jacket we will be escorted into the hotel without meeting any crazy photographers."

Everyone was escorted to a small theater with a podium and a microphone. On the side of the stage there was a small band set up. Lane and Zach immediately started talking about the instruments. "Oh look at that drum kit Zach. That is the Roland electronic drum kit that I would just love to play. Think of all the music we could play with that.

"Lane, that is a Gibson Les Paul guitar. By playing that I could channel all the greats that played a Les Paul. I could be like Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Freddie King, Mick Taylor, Jimmy Page, Pete Townshend, Peter Frampton, Slash or even Ace Frehley of KISS. KISS Lane."

Finn stood in front of the stage and said, "All right, settle down Van Gerbigs. Maybe if you behave the band can be persuaded to let you get a closer look after the show. For all the grandparents of Rory and Tristan, this show will include songs from Dean Martin, Tony Bennett, Nat King Cole, Louis Armstrong, Etta James and John Berry among others. For everyone, especially Lorelai and Rory, there will be singing puppets. Sorry Colin, I know you aren't a big fan of puppets, but I think even you will enjoy this. Why you are afraid of talking puppets I will never understand. Is it may fault that your room was filled with movable, talking Chucky dolls right after you saw the movie?"

Colin glared at Finn and Finn laughed and continued by saying, "I guess that one was my fault, but you have to admit that the video we got of you waking up to the Bride of Chucky in bed with you was priceless. For those of you that haven't seen it, it can be found on YouTube under the title, "Yalie screams like a little girl and hides under his bed because of dolls," horrible title I know, but the site rejected my more creative and colorful titles; something about them not being appropriate. Anyway Colin, these puppets won't attack you; I don't think." Colin gave Finn a skeptical look but took a seat in the theater.

As soon as everyone was seated, the band came out and they were followed by The Mirage's premier entertainer, ventriloquist Terry Fator. He brought out many of his puppets and sang many songs. Everyone was laughing and enjoying the show. Finn started to get antsy sitting in his seat. Caitlin turned to him and asked what was wrong. "I have to go to the bathroom. Keep watching, I will be right back." Finn got up and left the theater.

A couple minutes after Finn left, Terry finished his song and then looked into his small audience and said, "For my last song, my pal Johnny Vegas here needs a beautiful lady on stage with him." The puppet whispered in his ear and everyone heard mumbling and Terry looked around then continued, "He requested that the lovely lady in green come on stage. He said he is partial to her red hair." Since this was not the first request for someone to join him on stage, there was a Sonny and Cher song earlier that Sarah had helped with, Caitlin wasn't at all suspicious. She just hoped that Finn would get back soon so he could see her.

Someone brought out a chair and put it next to the puppet. Once Caitlin was settled on the chair the music started slowly. Soon she heard the puppet start to sing,

_I think I've waited long enough,  
Let enough time go by,  
To know just what I need in my life._

Caitlin looked at the puppet and tried to figure out why it sounded different. It sounded familiar but she kept listening.

_When I look at you right now,  
My heart is telling me why,  
You're the only one for me._

Caitlin watched as the puppet stopped singing but voice continued. She turned in her chair and looked behind her as she realized that Finn had joined her on the stage and was walking toward her singing into a microphone attached to his shirt.

_An' tonight, if you let me ask you this,  
With Heaven as my witness:  
Will you marry me?_

Finn got down on one knee in front of her and took her hand in his as he continued to sing. Caitlin had tears streaming down her face as she realized what he was doing.

_I wanna be with you for all eternity.  
I swear my love for you will always be.  
Here, on bended knee,  
Baby, I'm asking, please,_

Finn held up the ring in front of her and looked deep into her eyes as he sang the last line:

_Will you marry me?_

Caitlin's whole face lit up as she replied, "Yes Finn, of course I will marry you." Then she threw her arms around him and kissed him. When she finally pulled back, he slipped the ring onto her finger. She was laughing and crying at the same time.

Finn looked at her and said, "I love you Caitlin. There is nothing in the world I want more than to be with you forever and I don't want to wait to marry you. Will you marry me tomorrow night?"

Caitlin's eyes were wide with shock and after she thought for a few seconds she replied unsurely, "I would love to marry you tomorrow night." She paused and chewed on her lip as her eyes grew worried.

Trying hard not so smile since he knew exactly why she was upset, he said, "I have a feeling that there is more to that sentence and it starts with the word 'but,' so just tell me."

Caitlin sighed and said, "But I really want my parents to be at our wedding and I want my dad to give me away."

Finn nodded and looked defeated for a moment. Then he smiled softly and said, "So the only thing stopping you from marrying me tomorrow is that your parents aren't here?"

She nodded and Finn's smile got bigger and he said, "Look over there love." He pointed to the side of the stage where two people stood. Patrick Kelly was tall and thin with dark red hair and green eyes and Molly Kelly looked like an older version of her daughter, petite, red headed and beautiful. Caitlin turned around and gasped as a huge smile returned to her face. Before running to her parents, Caitlin hugged Finn tightly and said, "Thank you Finn. Let's get married tomorrow night!"

Everyone in the theater began to applaud and they all gathered in front of the stage as Caitlin, Finn and her parents joined them. Introductions were made and Patrick and Molly easily fit into the mixed group. Everyone congratulated Finn and Caitlin, but soon Caitlin began to panic a bit.

"I know this is Vegas, but how am I going to get everything ready for a wedding before tomorrow?" she asked no one in particular.

"You know how I told you there would be four surprises before we left the hotel? Well, the ventriloquist show was one, the proposal was two, your parents were three and the wedding tomorrow is four. Part of the fourth surprise is that everything is all planned. I made all of the actual wedding arrangements and Rory took care of everything else," Finn replied calmly. Caitlin's look of panic turned into one of wonder and amazement.

"When we get back to the hotel I will show you everything I bought and you can try on the wedding dress. If you don't like it, we have time to find another one this afternoon before tonight. I hope you aren't opposed to the idea of a double bachelorette party," Rory said with excitement.

"This is all a bit overwhelming, but I think it is going to be wonderful. I love him so much," Caitlin looked at Finn adoringly.

After Lane and Zach were done talking to the band and even trying the instruments a bit and everyone else had talked for a while, Finn got everyone's attention and announced the remaining plans for the day.

"I arranged a private buffet lunch at our hotel and from there, our group will split up a bit. Think of it as pre-bachelor and bachelorette parties. I set up tee-times for all the men at two and that will give us all time to get clubs at the pro shop. For the women, I scheduled some manicures and pedicures also at two. Afterwards, I thought maybe a shopping trip. The hotel has all the best retailers including Cartier, Dior, Louis Vuitton, Oscar de la Renta, and Manolo Blahnik among others. However, this is the end of my planning for the whole group. Once you ladies are done at the spa, it is all up to Caitlin and Lane to take over for the real bachelorette party. Men, I will fill you in on our plans as we golf. For now, our transportation awaits." The group was escorted to the waiting limos and was transported back to their hotel.

* * *

The buffet Finn had arranged included burgers, sandwiches, salads, fruit, vegetables, fries and a variety of desserts. He wanted to make sure that everyone would be able to find something to enjoy, especially Lorelai and Rory who would have been upset with just salads and fruit.

As the groups were about to go their separate ways, Finn gave Caitlin one more kiss and said, "I know we aren't exactly ones for tradition, but as tradition dictates, we will spend the night apart. You will be in Rory's room and Tristan is going to bunk with me. Maybe we will see each other sometime tonight and maybe we won't. So I hope you had enough of your fill of Finn for the day."

Before Caitlin could reply, Lorelai, Rory, Lane, Sookie, Christopher, Tristan and surprisingly Emily all said, "Dirty!" Lorelai looked at Emily and said, "I didn't think you had it in you Mom. Maybe I am rubbing off on you after all."

Emily gave Lorelai a bit of a scathing look and it looked like she was about to give her yet another speech about being inappropriate when she got a bit of a glint in her eyes. With a smirk she said, "Lorelai, I am a Gilmore Girl too; it is most likely that you get your sense of humor from me. And besides, I have decided to embrace the phrase, 'What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.' Tonight I am going to let my hair down, let loose, kick up my heels, party like it's 1999 and be young again."

Lorelai raised one eyebrow and gave her mother an appraising look before she turned to Rory and whispered, "Challenge accepted. Let's see if Grandma can really keep up with us." Rory shook her head knowing that Lorelai was going to take full advantage of Emily's declaration.

* * *

A/N: The song was "Will You Marry Me" by John Berry. It is a bit slow, but I loved the words and I think Finn needed something serious rather than funny to ask such an important question.

I really do appreciate all the reviews that I have gotten for this story so far. You all have no idea how much I love to read what you think of the story. I am a little sad regarding reviews though. This story seems to be popular. It has about 20,000 hits but **less than one percent** of those have turned into reviews. So I am hoping that you all can change that.

I am not going to give a review survey this time, but I am going to pose a challenge. If you have read this chapter, then you obviously don't hate the story (or if you do you really like punishing yourself to read 14 chapters). Please take 30 seconds to leave a review, just tell me in a word or two what you think of this story or even just this chapter. Signed or anonymous reviews are fine. Just please leave a review. I want to see if this chapter alone can get more reviews than any other one so far!


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